IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHIVI/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microraproductions  /  Inatitut  Canadian  da  microraproductions  historiquas 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notas/Notas  tachniqua*  at  bibliographiquas 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Featurea  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  eny  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  belpw. 


D 


D 


D 


n 


n 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommagAe 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaur^  et/ou  pellicula 


I      I   Cover  title  missing/ 


Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


□    Coloured  maps/ 
Cartes  g^ographiques  en  couleur 


Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


I      I   Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 


Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli6  avac  d'autrei  documents 


FT]    Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 


along  interior  margin/ 

La  re  liure  serrie  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 

distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  inttrieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
11  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajouttes 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  taxte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  ttait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  Att  filmias. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  suppiimentaires: 


Thi 
ton 


L'Institut  a  microfilm*  le  meilleur  exempiaire 
qu'il  lui  a  At*  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exempiaire  qui  sont  peut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite.  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  m6thode  normaia  de  filmage 
sont  indiquAe  ci-dessous. 


I      I   Coloured  pages/ 


n 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommag6es 

Pages  restored  and/oi 

Pages  restaurAes  et/ou  pellicul6es 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxet 
Pages  dAcoiories,  tacheties  ou  piquAes 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d^tachies 

Showthrough/ 
Transparence 

Quality  of  prir 

Qualit^  inAgale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  materii 
Comprend  du  materiel  supplimentaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Mition  disponibie 


I      I  Pages  damaged/ 

I      I  Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 

nn  Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 

I      I  Pages  detached/ 

nri  Showthrough/ 

I      I  Quality  of  print  varies/ 

r~l  Includes  supplementary  material/ 

I — I  Only  edition  available/ 


Th« 
poi 
ofl 
filnr 


Ori 

bat 

the 

sioi 

oth 

fire 

sioi 

ori 


Thfl 
sha 
TIN 
whi 

Mai 
diff 

enti 
beg 
righ 
reqi 
met 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  ref limed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuiliet  d'errata.  une  peiure, 
etc.,  ont  M  filmAes  k  nouveau  de  fs^on  A 
obtenir  la  meiileure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  ifilmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  filmA  au  taux  de  rMuction  indiqui  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


26X 


SOX 


t 


12X 


16X 


20X 


a4X 


28X 


32X 


'0 

ttails 
«  du 
modifier 
ir  une 
ilmaga 


Th«  copy  filmed  her*  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

Library, 

Gtologicai  Survay  of  Canada 


The  images  appearing  here  ere  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  end  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  iceeping  with  the 
filming  contrect  specif icetions. 


L'exemplaire  film6  f ut  reproduit  grAce  i  la 
gAnArositA  da: 

BibliothAque. 

Commission  Gfologique  du  Canada 


Las  imsges  suivantes  ont  AtA  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grond  soin,  compte  tenu  de  le  condition  ot 
de  le  nettetA  de  l'exemplaire  filmA.  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 


IS 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  ere  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  end  ending  on 
the  lest  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  becit  cover  when  epproprlate.  All 
other  original  copies  ere  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  e  printed  or  iliustreted  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


Les  exempleireo  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
pepier  est  ImprimAe  sont  film6s  en  commenpant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
darnlAre  pege  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustrstion,  soit  par  le  second 
plet,  selon  le  ces.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
origineux  sont  f  ilmte  en  commen^nnt  par  la 
premiere  pege  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustretion  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


The  lost  recorded  freme  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  ^»>  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  y  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  epplies. 


Un  des  symboles  solvents  apparaltra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  — ►  signifie  "A  SUiVRE",  le 
symbols  ▼  signifie  "FIN  ". 


Meps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  mey  be  filmed  et 
different  reduction  retios.  Those  too  lerge  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  ore  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  end  top  to  bottom,  as  many  fremes  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  Atre 
filmAs  A  des  taux  de  rA(4uction  diff Arents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clichA.  il  est  filmA  A  partir 
de  i'engie  supArieur  geuche.  de  gauche  A  droite. 
et  de  hout  en  bes.  en  prenent  le  nombre 
d'images  nAcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  solvents 
illustrent  la  mAthode. 


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to 


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I  *      •  t  *    • 


THE 


PRIVATE  JOURNAL 


o> 


■■1.    '>■!,■  -.'•.-j^' I.' 


CAPTAIN  G.  F.  LYON, 


OF  H.  M.  S.  HECLA, 


DVRIITG   THS 


RECENT  VOYAGE  OF  DISCOVERY  UNDER 
CAPTAIN  PARRY. 


-."»■>■: 


^i--^i::::ttiy. 


BOSTON : 


^KLXS   AND   LILLY— •COURT-STREET. 


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TO 


CAPTAIN  W.  E.  PARRY, 

VlTDSit  WH08S  COMMAND  OE 

THE  EXPEDITION 

»0R  THK 

SCxtcirtiers  of  a  Mot^^Wtni  9ai>iM(fle> 

X  HAVE  HAD  THE  HEARTFELT  SATISFACTIOIT  OE  SERVIlTCi, 

WHOSE  VRIBKDSHIP  I  AM  PROUD  TO  POSSESS, 

THESE  RECOLLECTIONS 

OE  THE  DATS  WE  HAVE  HAPPILY  PASSED  TOOSTHSR, 

i    y-   ■'- -  ARE  INSORIBED 

HT  HIS  SINCERE  AND  1}RATEFVL  FRIEND, 

GEaF.LYON. 


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L^ 


PREFACE 


til- 


:i./^.>\;.tr_ 


.  .vjj: 


Perhaps  there  are  not  many  readers  who 
take  the  trouble  of  casting  an  eye  over  a  Pre- 
face, knowing  that  it  is  usually  neither  more 
nor  less  than  a  sort  of  appeal  from  the  Au- 
thor to  the  Public.  Notwithstanding  this,  I 
strongly  feel  the  necessity  of  placing  one  at 
the  head  of  my  little  journal,  with  the  view,  I 
confess,  of  bespeaking  something  in  its  favour 
from  those  who  may  honour  it  with  a  perusal ; 
I  assuring  them  that  it  was  written  solely  for 
the  amusement  of  my  own  fire-side,  and  with- 
out the  most  distant  idea  that  it  would  ever 
I  see  the  light  in  any  other  shape  than  that  of 
its  original  manuscript. 

Being  sent  with  the  other  Journals  to  the 
Admiralty,  in  obedience  to  Captain  Parry's 
I  instructions,  my  friend  Mr.  Barrow,  in  return- 
ing it  to  me,  advised  me  strongly  to  publish  it, 
on  account  of  the  number  of  little  anecdotes 
it  contained  relative  to  the  habits  and  dispo- 
sition of  a  people  entirely  separated  from  the 
rest  of  the  world,  and  with  whom  we  had  for 


H 


•>.,. 


▼I 


FSBVAOB. 


SO  great  a  length  of  time  kept  up  an  intimate 
and  constant  intercourae. 

He  observed  also,  as  an  additional  induce- 
ment, that  Captain  Parry,  in  his  authentic  and 
official  account  of  the  expedition,  had  not 
deemed  it  fit  or  necessary  to  enter  into  many 
of  those  minute  and  peculiar  traits  which 
are  requisite  for  displaying  the  character  of  a 
strange  people.  Captain  Parry's  opinion  on 
this  subject  agreeing  with  Mr.  Barrow's,  I 
could  no  longer  hesitate ;  and  therefore,  after 
a  few  abbreviations,  and  the  omission  of  some 
details  of  natural  history,  and  of  scientific  ob- 
servations, I  sent  the  original  manuscript  to 
the  printer.  This  is  the  brief  history  of  my 
private  gossiping  journal,  thus  making  its  ap- 
pearance before  the  Public,  on  whose  kind- 
ness and  indulgence  1  now  beg  to  throw  my- 
self;    ^""'  '''^  ^^^■'■"'  ''•'  '  ^-•-^'--  --• 


■»'/.; 


1 1  > 


G.  F.  L. 


i 


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^>it'-5     i.i'i) 


.;*•<•■.    --f     ) 


li  / 


f,i-  ->!K- 


-   i     I 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I.   ' 

)eparture  from  England page  1 

CHAPTER  II. 

expedition  to  examine  Hurd  s  Channel — Anchor  within  it— Far- 
ther examifiation — Gore  Bay  discovered-  Red  enow—Dangers 
of  Hurd'i  Channel — Enter  a  large  inlet^Captain  Parry*s  ab- 
sence in  boats — He  meets  with  Natives — Captain  Parry's  second 
absence  and  return — Approach  of  winter — Ships  stopped  by 
young  ice— Cut  into,   and  take  winter-quarters    ....     41 

CHAPTER  III. 

Ships  take  their  winter  quarters — Theatricals — The  School— Ob- 
servatory built — Foxes — Shortest  day— Christmas— The  Aurora 
—New  year — Arctic  fox — Wine  frozen — Arrival  of  the  Eski- 
maux,  and  a  pock  of  wolves — Snow  houses — Interior  arrange- 
ment— Tattooing — Honesty  of  the  natives — Frost,  bites — Luxu- 
ries—Manner of  sewing — Boldness  of  the  wolves — Music— Ar- 
nalooa 62 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Tolf  caught^The  snuff-box — Seals  caught— Voracious  feeding— 
The  marines — Okotook  and  lligliak — An  eclipse — Ayookitt — 
Walrus  killed— The  thirteenth  wolf  killed— Charts  obtained — 
Journey  across  the  island — A  dance — Kettle  and  the  spirit — 
Beef  stolen .100 

CHAPTER  V. 

fatives  change  their  statiu-rif: — Gluttony— Deserted  huts — The  first 
thaw— Arrival  of  birds — Land  expedition — Snow  blindness — 
Snow-storm — Return  to  the  ships — Death  of  a  seaman— Deer 
are  seen— Singular  phenomenon — Canal  completed — The  gar- 
dens—Appearance of  the  island — Death  of  two  seamen — Ice 
breaks  up,  and  we  leave  the  island 129 

CHAPTER  VI. 

save  Winter  Island — Dcxngeioos  navigation — The  coast — Bar- 
row River — Walrus  killed — New  natives — Land  at  Igloolik — 
Tents — Inhabitants — Bad    weather — Hospitality    of   natives — 


Vlll 


COVTENTIt 


State  of  the  ice— Bone  huti->Salmon  procured— Land  journey 
with  Toolfimak— Sledgei— Pirpi— A  ball— The  koonik— Return  j 
on  board— Whale  killed — Off  Nerllnakto— Captain  Parry  leavei 
ui — His  return  and  discovery    «    • 155 1 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Enter  Strait  of  Furv  anri  Hecla — Land  journeys — State  of  the 
season — Bears    killed— Liddnn     Island — Amherst    Island — Ex- 
amine state  of  the  ice— A  cave — Extraordinary  currents— Seek  I 
winter-quarters- Igloolik— -Ice«buts— An    anchor     lost — Shipi 
frozen  in  . 190 1 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Annatko— A   man  beats  his   wives— Geographical  intelligence— j 
Strangers  arrive— White  wolf — Sun  leaves  us  for  forty-two  days— 
Toolemak^s    hut — Christmas*day — Distresses  of   the  nativem— I 
Effect  of  the  climate ,    .    2071 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Persons  of  the  Eskimaux — Their  dress  and  ornaments— Occupa-' 
tinns  of  the  women— Canoes — Sludges— Weapons — Hunting  onk 
the  ice— Dogs — Land  animals — Wolf  traps — Fishing — Geogra-i 
phical  knowledge — General  disposition- Marriages — Estimationl 
of  women — Treatment  of  children — Conduct  to  the  aged,  to  thel 
-Superstitions 222| 


sick|  and  the  dead' 


CHAPTER  X. 

New  year's  day — Anecdotes  of  bears — The  sun  returns — Drifil 
wood — A  sick  woman  and  child- They  die — Visit  to  the  graTel 
— Man  eaten  by  dogs — Kagha — Her  death — A  theft — Visit  digT 
tant  huts — Specimens  of  eating — Scurvy^Death  of  Mr.  Elder-I 
Arrangements  for  Fury  to  remain  another  year— ToolemakI 
drunk— Appearance  of  vegetation— Strangers  arrive — Vanity  o(l 
a  woman — Togorlat's  death — Toolemak  takes  leave     .     .    27? 

^^^  CHAPTER  XI.  '   - 

Journey  in  search  of  a  western  sea,  and  return — Arrival  of  stranJ 
gers — Fish  procured — A  river  discovered — Mice— Mr.  Hoppneia 
two  excursions — Walrus  sinks  a  boat— The  ice  breaks  up — ReaJ 
sons  for  the  ships  returning  home — The  ships  make  an  offing   30 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Expedition  returning — A  landmark_erected — Account  of  Igloolik-j 
Drift  of  the  ship — Danger  of  the  ships  while  driving — Lyon  Inle| 
— Death  of  Mr  George  Fife — His  case — The  ships  drive  out  ( 
Lyon  Inlet — Open  water  seen,  and  an  offing  made — Passa^i 
down  Hudson's  Strait  and  across  the  Atlantic— Arrival  and  ho 
pitable  reception  at  Lerwick 32{ 


PRIVATE    JOURNAL. 


CK.\PTBR  I. 


BBPARTUBB  VBOM  BNOLAND. 


I  At  daylight  of  the  8th  of  May,  1821,  his  Maj6sty*t. 
|ips  Fury  and  Hecla^  accompanied  by  the  Nautilua 
insport,  carrying  Htorei,  weighed,  and  stood  oat  from 

Little  Nore. 

|0n  the  16th,  having  made  KinDQird*s  Light,  near 

tterhead,  we  sent  the  pilots  on  shore,  and  by  them 

)re  enabled  to  send  letters  to  our  friends. 

iaking  the  Orkneys  on  the  18th,  it  was  Captain 

Lrry's  intention  to  take  the  ships  through  the  Fent- 

id  Firth,  and  we  procured  pilots  for  that  purpose 

}m  some  ishing  boats,  which  were  catching  cod  ie 

sat  plenty  for  the  .London  market,  to  which  they  are 

irarded  by  a  company  established  for  that  trade  af 

Orkneys.    We  had  scarcely,  however,  entered  tlie 

th,  when  the  wind  came  so  msh  from  the  northward 

to  oblige  us  to  bear  up  for  Widewall  Bay,  in  the 

knd  of  South  Ronaldsha.     This  place,  although  small 

shallow,  afforded  good  shelter  for  our  little  squad- 

,    We  remained  four  days,  and,  during  that  period,' 

sived  the  miost  hospitable  treatment  from  the  lairds 

[he  country.    The  island  appeared  to  me  even  more 

prepossessing  than  I  had  expected,  owing,  perhaps, 

liaving  left  England  at  so  fine  a  season;  at  all  events, 

ras  calculated  to  prepare  me  for  the  barren  scenes 

Iwere  so  soon  to  visit. 

the  22d,  we  made  another  fruitless  attempt  to 
through  the  Firth|  but  the  rapid  tide  and  atrdug 


9 


PASSAib  A0B08S  THE  ATXAVTIO. 


west  wind  were  too  much  for  qs,  and  we  ran  intoLoDf 
Hope,  in  the  island  of  Walls. 

A  heavy  gale  from  N.N.E.  confined  us  for  three 
days;  and  on  the  30th  of  May,  we  left  Long  Hope,, 
passed  amongst  the  islands  near  Stromness,  and  made 
an  offing.    Until  the  6th,  we  had  an  uninterrupted  fair  j 
wind,  when  it  fell  calm. 

On  the  evening  of  the  7th  we  again  recovered  our  fa- 
Touriag  breeze,  and  as  we  approached  nearer  to  Cape  | 
Farewell,  saw  abundance  of  the  Cape  hens,  which,  un- 
like most  other  sea-birds,  appeared  to  live  more  on  the  1 
water  than  on  the  wing,  seldom  rising  unless  disturbed,  j 
In  changing  their  place  they  have  a  most  graceful  man- 
ner  of  propelling  themselves  forward;  for,  as  they  I 
generally  settle  with  expanded  wings,  so  by  Uie  slight- 
eat  exertion  can  tluey  again  shoot  forward  and  settle, 
and  this  elegant  skimming  motion  is  often  repeated 
from  wave  to  wave,  until  they  remove  from  the  object  | 
of  alarm. 

We  were  now  nearly  abreast  of  Cape  Farewell  f  the  I 
aoutbem  extreme  of  Greenland),  and  flattered  ourselvei  | 
we  should  pass  it  without  a  gale,  although  the  Green- 
land pilots  said  it  was  impossible.    As  they  predicted,! 
so  it  happened ;  the  evening  sky  assumed  a  wild,  and 
to  me,  unusual  appearance,  and  a  heavy  gale  set  in 
from  the  southward,  blowing  with  great  fury  until  af- 
ternoon of  the  12th,  when  a  gentle  and  favourable 
breeze  sprung  up..  Two  swans  flew  pa^t  us  to  the| 
westward,  aqd  of  course  were  looked  upon  as  indica- 
tloi^s  of  our  approach  to  the  land. 

On  the  evening  of  the  14th  vtq  saw  our  first  ice-berg;  I 
an|d  all  thpse  to  whom  such  ol^ects  were  new,  aflbrded 
much  amusement  to  the  old  hands,  by  their  anxiety  to 
see  it.    I  was  amongst  the  number,  and  gladly  made  al 
sketch  of  it,  cpnsidering  it  wonld  always  be  interesting! 
to  look  back  to  my  first  introduction  to  these  wondrous! 
floating  masses.     It  was  not  a  large  berg,  and  near  itl 
were  several  flocks  of  rotzes  (alca  alle)  which  did'notj 
appear  alarmed  by  the  ships  sailing  amongst  them. 
,,\a  the  forenoon  of  the   16th  fin  iqe-berg  was  seeni 
a-head.    To  one  who,  like  myself,  was  a  straoger  to! 


F18IAOB  ACmotS  TWB  ATLAlfTtO.  S 

these  climeti,  I  Deed  scarcely  apoloerize  for  mentionifig 
the  novel  beauty  of  the  evening  of  this  day.     At  a  qaat- 
ter  past  ten  the  suti  set :  the  sky  over-head  was  of  the 
purest  azure,  here  and  there  sprinkled  with  light  sil- 
very clouds  of  the  most  fantastic  forms.    At  about  mid- 
heaven,  in  the  western  sky,  a  range  of  purple  clouds, 
edged  with  vivid  gold,  formed  a  delightful  contrast 
with  the  soflened  crimson  of  the  setting  sun.     In  op- 
position to  this  glowing  scene,  the  eastern  heavens 
were  filled  with  heavy  clouds  of  a  brilliant  whiteness, 
and  cold  appearance,  backed  by  a  clear  blue  sky.  The 
calm  sea  exhibited,  in  a  softened  degree,  the  beauties 
above  it,  and  its  surface  was  occasionally  ruffled  by  the 
rapid  motions  of  large  shoals  of  porpoises,  attended  by 
multitudes  of  birds.    The  ships  lay  motionless  together, 
and  their  bells  alone  broke  the  universal  stillness.    This 
delightful  evening  far  excelled,  in  my  opinion,  any 
Italian  sun  set ;  but  the  presence  of  two  large  i6e-bei|ps 
reminded  us  but  too  well  that  we  were  in  a  far  differ- 
ent climate.  ^ 

On  the  17th  a  heavy  gale  came  on  from  the  south- 
ward ;  during  which  a  sea  stove  and  carried  away  one 
of  our  quarter  boats.  With  but  little  abatement  in  the 
wind  we  came  amongst  a  quantity  of  loose  ice  on  the 
morning  of  the  18th,  and  at  9  a.  m.  in  lat.  60°.  53  N. 
long.  61°.  39  W.,  we  made  the  pack,  or  main  body  of 
ice,  having  many  large  bergs  in  and  near  it.  As  the 
transport  was  liable  to  injury  from  the  ice  during  this 
fresh  weather,  we  stood  off  from  it  again. 

The  pack  edge  was  in  a  straight  line,  and  presented 
the  appearance  of  a  low  rugged  wall.  The  morning 
was  gloomy,  and  the  wind  which  set  on  to  the  ice  kept 
it  in  continual  motion :  snow  fell  occasionally,  and  a 
slight  coating  of  ice  formed  on  the  rigging.  Over  the 
pack  I  observed,  for  the  first  time,  the  luminous  ap- 
pearance called  the  blink,  which,  although  very  white, 
was  not  of  course  to  be  compared  with  the  body  by 
which  it  was  caused.  Flocks  of  divers  and  gulls  swam 
with  unconcern  amongst  the  rolling  masses  by  which 
they  were  sarrounded,  and  occasionaliy  rising  to  avoid 


PASSAGE  ACBOS8  THB  ATLANTIC. 


■  I 


a  coming  fva?e,  resumed  their  search  for  food.  As  first  I 
impressions  are  aiways  lasting  and  forcible,  1  may  be 
forgi?en  for  mentioning  my  sensations  on  this  day, 
which  I  can  compare  only  with  those  I  experienced  on 
riding  from  Tripoli  to  take  a  view  of  the  desert,  amongst 
whose  barren  and  inhospitable  sands  I  was  then  abuutj 
to  undertake  the  tedious  journey,  which  ended  so  un- 
happily. 

On  the  weather  moderating,  we  stood  along  the  pack  I 
edge  to  look  out  for  some  convenient  place  in  which 
to  put  the  ships  while  we  unloaded  the  Nautilus.  As 
we  now  considered  ourselves  to  have  entered  on  the 
scene  of  action,  many  requisite  preparations  were  made 
for  our  new  service.  In  all  whaling  ships,  and  such  as 
are  obliged  to  run  much  amongst  ice,  a  large  and  broad 
plank  is  erected  across  the  ship,  before  the  mizen-mast, 
at  such  a  height  as  to  afford  a  clear  view  over  the 
bows;  in  order  that  whoever  is  conning,  the  ship  may 
have  timely  notice  of  any  heavy  or  dangerous  pieces 
of  ice  lying  in  her  way,  and  be  enabled  to  stear  hec 
clear  of  them.  This  Walk  is  "ailed  a  spike  plank,  and 
was  on  this  day  got  up  in  both  ships.  We  also  rove 
iUght  tacks,  sheets,  and  brace^  and  bent  a  smaller  fore* 
sail  with  a  boom  at  the  foot,  as  being  more  easily  | 
worked  than  the  other. 

In  the  afternoon  we  were  surrounded  by  a  very  I 
dense  fog,  which  froze  as  it  fell,  and  quite  encrusted 
the  rigging ;  it  soon  cleared  away,  and  we  saw  a  strange  | 
sail  to  the  S.E.     In  the  evening  we  observed  the  ap- 
pearance of  distant  land,  which  we  supposed  was  a  part  I 
of  Resolution  Island,  then  64  miles  W.S.  W.  of  us. 

During  the  first  watch  a  large  fragment  was  observ-i 
ed  to  fall  from  a  berg  near  us,  and  to  throw  up  the 
water  to  a  great  height,  sending  forth,  at  the  same  | 
time,  a  noise  like  the  report  of  a  great  gun. 

On  the  evening  of  the  20th  we  made  fast  to  a  berg  I 
at  some  distance  from  the  pack,  in  order  to  clear  the 
transport.    Occasiqnal  gales,  the  necessity  of  making 
an  offing,  and  many  other  of  the  attendant,  difficulties! 
usually  experienced  amongst  ice,  prevented  our  entire- 
ly clearing  the  Nautilus  until  the  30th  of  June. 


FA8SAOB  AOS088  THB  ATLAIVTIO* 


6 


On  thii^ .      Mr.  Scrymgeour,  of  the  Nautilus,  dined 

rith  us,  a^ui  received  more  messages  uid  commissions 

to  our  frieqdG  at  home  than  he  could  possibly  recollect. 

^ur  letters  were  all  written  in  readiness,  and  a  faii* 

rind,  which  soon  sprung  up,  hastened  his  departure. 

At  one  o^clock  on  the  morning  of  the  1st  July  I  took 

[r.  Scrymgeour  on  hoard  his  ship,  and  returning  on 
)oard,  turned  the  hands  up  to  give  him  three  hearty 
md  very  sincere  cheers  as  he  disappeared  in  the  fog. 

do  not  recollect  that  any  of  our  faces  appeared  very 
lively  during  the  remainder  of  this  day.  In  the  eve- 
ling,  having  found  a  lead  (or  lane  of  water),  we  made 
borne  progress :  a  large  whale  came  near  us.  Early  on 
[be  morning  of  the  2d,  we  ran  through  some  heavy  ice, 
md  made  fast  to  a  small  berg,  where  we  were  soon 
)eset.  At  noon,  on  the  clearing  up  of  a  fog,  which  had 
jfor  some  time  surrounded  us,  we  discovered  land  about 
10  miles  from  S.S.W.  to  W.N.W.,  which  we  immedi- 
itely  knew  to  be  the  Black  Bluff,  on  Resolution  Island  t 

taking  sail,  we  were  soon  introduced  to  the  company 
)f  some  unusually  large  ice-bergs.  The  altitude  of  one 

^as  258  feet  above  the  suvface  of  the  sea:  its  total 
leight  therefore  (allowing  one-seventh  only  to  be  visi- 
>le)  must  have  been  about  1806  feet*  !  We  hadscarce'* 
[y  passed  this  floating  mountain,  when  the  eddy  tide 
Irifted  us  with  great  rapidity  amongst  a  large  cluster 
)f  eleven  bergs  of  a  great  size,  and  having  a  beautiful 
liversity  of  forms.  The  largest  of  these  was  210  feet 
bbove  the  water. 

The  floe  ice  was  running  wildly  at  the  rate  of  a< 
least  three  miles  an  hour,  sweeping  us  past  the  bergs, 
Wainst  any  one  of  which  we  might  have  received  in- 
calculable injucy.  We  therefore  attempted  to  make 
fast  to  one,  in  order  to  ride  out  the  tide  (for  all  were 
iground),  but  our  endeavours  were  ucavailing ;  and  the 

ury  had  much  difficulty  in  sending  a  boat  for  some 

len  who  were  on  a  small  berg  making  holes  for  her 

•  ThU,  however,  ia  supposing  the  base  under  watei  not  to 
>read  beyond  the  mats  above  water. 


I* 

-^ 

■,.:'      -^ 

• 

■J^.  -.-• 

< 

/,:,. 

B 


ENTEniKO  Hudson's  STRAIT. 


ice  anchors.    We  were  no  sooner  swept  past  the  clus- 
ter than  we  were  instantly,  and  not  very  quietly,  heset.l 
In  the  evening  the  master  and  myself  counted  54  bergs 
from  the  mast-head.    We  were  now  in  the  entrance  of  I 
Hudson's  Strait. 

During  the  3d  we  made  some  progress  amongst  very 
heavy  floes ;  when,  on  the  tide  turning  in  the  evening,  I 
the  loose  ice  flew  together  with  such  rapidity  and 
noise,  that  we  had  barely  time  to  secure  the  ships  in  a 
natural  dock,  before  the  two  streams  met;  and  eveDJ 
then  we  received  some  very  heavy  shocks. 

During  the  first  watch,  we  watered  the  ship  from  I 
the  pools  on  the  floe  to  which  we  were  fast,  and  this  | 
being  the  first  time  of  doing  so,  afibrded  great  aniuse* 
m'ent  to  the  novices,  who  even  when  it  was  theirwatclij 
below,  preferred  pelting  each  other  with  snow-balls  to 
going  to  bed.     During  the  night  the  ships,  although 
still  beset,  parted  to  a  great  distance  from  each  other, 
evidently  under  the  influence  of  some  extraordinary 
eddy.    On  the  5th  the  weather  cleared,  and  the  ice 
slackened  a  little.     Button's  Islands  were  seen  in  the  I 
distance,  and  we  made  some  westing ;  but  on  the  tide  I 
turning  in  the  evening,  were  again  swept  back. 

At  2  A.  M.  on  the  6th  the  inshore  tide  took  the  ship  I 
and  swept  us  fast  towards  the  rocks,  past  which  the  ice 
was  driving  at  full  five  miles  an  hour.  On  nearingthel 
chore,  a  low  rugged  point  was  observed,  on  h  hich  thej 
ice  was  grating  with  extreme  violence,  and  we  fulljl 
expected  to  be  carried  upon  it.  Providentially  thel 
■same  eddy  which  had  caused  our  troubles  again  reliev-j 
ed  us  by  taking  a  sudden  turn,  at  about  two  cables'! 
length  from  the  danger,  and  carrying  us  off  from  itl 
Had  we  touched  on  a  sunken  rock  we  must  have  upsetj 
93  the  whole  body  of  ice  would  have  gone  over  os. 

To  give  some  idea  of  the  pressure  we  at  this  timel 
experienced,  1  may  mention,  that  five  hawsers  (of  fivel 
and  six  inches)  were  repeatedly  carried  away ;  and  all 
length  our  best  bower  anchor  was  wrenched  from  the! 
bows,  and  broke  00"  at  the  head  of  the  shank,  wUh  as 
tfiuch  ease  as  if,  instead  of  weighing  twenty-one  cwt.,| 


1PA88A6B  vr  Hudson's  stiuii^.  7 

h&d  been  of  crockery  ware.    The  crown  fell  on  the 

ie,  from  whence  we  launched  it  &»  soon  as  possible 

ito  the  sea,  lest,  as  it  was  painted  with  the  ship's 

ime,  it  should,  on  being  driven  to  sea,  give  rise  to. 

kme  unpleasant  conjectures.    Our  troubles,  even  now, 

fere  not  at  an  end,  for  we  soon  perceived  a  large  berg, 

^hich  had  once  before  threatened  us,  Coming  to  the 

lip  very  rapidly,  while  any  attempt  to  avoid  it  would 

ive  been  of  no  avail.    When  at  about  half  a  mile  dis- 

^nt  a  large  fragment  was  detached,  and  fell  with  a  loud 

id,  at  that  time,  no  very  agreeable  noise.     By  4 

M.  it  had  passed  close  astern  of  us.     Its  height,  we 

ipposed,  was  about  150  feet.    In  the  course  of  the 

irenoon  the  ice  carried  us  gradually  off  the  shore,  and 

irther  from  it  than  the  Fury,  who  was  now  as  far  west 

\f  us  as  she  had  been  east  on  the  preceding  morning. 

On  tbe  forenoon  of  the  8th  we  were  carried  to  the 

ime  point  as  on  the  6th,  and  had,  if  possible,  a  nar- 

>wer  escape.     A  large  floe,  to  which  we  were  fast, 

^ad  acquired  a  rotary  motion,  and  by  this  means  the 

lip  and  it  were  exposed  by  turns  to  the  danger.     Mr. 

rife  came  down  from  the  crow's  nest,  and  very  quietly 

)ld  me  we  should  be  on  shore  immediately,  as  he  saw 

le  rocks  close  to  us.    Our  former  favouring  current, 

^owever,  ^again  swept  us  out  of  danger.     In  the  after- 

loon  we  joined  the  Fury,  and,  making  fast  to  tbe  same 

loe,  were  both  close  beset  for  seven  days.     During 

lis  long  period  we  saw  two  ships  under  Resoiution 

Island  on  the  13tb,  also  beset,  and  on  the  14th,  a  third 

)ined  them. 

In  the  forenoon  of  the  tBth  we  made  a  little  pro- 
press,  but  were  again  beset,  and  made  fast  to  a  small 
»erg,  under  the  lee  of  which  was  a  small  space  of  open 
^ater,  as  is  generally  the  case  with  these  bodies ;  for 
in  consequence  of  their  great  draught,  the  floes  and 
Comparatively  light  ice  soon  drive  past  them,  so  that  a 
jhip  is.  sometimes  left  in  clear  water  whilst  hanging  on 
10  one.  Tills  was  a  remark  of  Captain  Parry  in  his 
ist  voyage,  and  we  had  in  the  present  frequently  seeti 
[he  same  effects  from  large  flees.    During  the  first 


PASSAGE  UP  HITDSON's  STRAIT. 


!'i 


i 


watch  a  heayy  bodjp  of  ice  came  up  against  the  wii 
and  bore  as  with  great  force  against  the  berg :  ouj 
bowsprit  first  took  it,  but  we  received  no  furtlber  injn 
ry  than  the  loss  of  the  dolphin  striker  and  a  few  small 
ropes.    We  then  got  clear,  and  a  very  dull  rainy  nigh] 
followed. 

On  the  evening  of  the  16th  we  contrived  to  join  the 
strange  ships,  and  made  fast  to  a  floe  near  them ;  thej 
proved  to  be  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  Eddystone  (thcj 
Hudson^s  Bay  traders),  with  the  Lord  Wellington,  whict 
had  about  160  natives  of  Holland  on  board,  who  wer^ 
going  to  settle  at  Lord  Selkirk's  colony  on  the  Red  Rij 
▼er.  While  nearing  these  vessels  we  observed  thef 
settlers  waltzing  on  deck  for  above  two  hours ;  the| 
men  in  old-fashioned  grey  jackets,  and  the  women 
wearing  long-eared  mob  caps,  like  those  used  by  th^ 
Swiss  peasants. 

As  we  were  surrounded  by  ice,  and  the  thermome-l 
ter  was  at  the  freezing  point,  it  may  be  supposed  thai] 
this  ball  alvero  fresco  afforded  us  much  amusementj 
We  learned  from  the  Hudson's  Bay  ships  that  they  badl 
left  England  twenty  days  later  than  ourselves.  As  foil 
the  Lord  Wellington,  she  had  been  nineteen  days  hai 
pared  amongst  the  ice  before  she  joined  the  others] 
and  as  this  navigation  was  new  to  her  captain  and  crew] 
they  almost  despaired  of  ever  getting  to  their  journe^'f 
end,  so  varied  and  constant  had  been  their  impediment 
The  Dutchmen  had,  however,  behaved  very  philoso 
phically  during  this  period,  and  seemed  determined  oil 
being  merry,  in  spite  of  the  weather.  Several  mar-l 
riages  had  taken  place,  (the  surgeon,  who  was  accom] 
panying  them  to  their  colony,  actiug  as  parson,)  anf 
many  more  were  in  agitation  ;  each  happy  couple  alj 
ways  deferring  the  ceremony  until  a  fine  day  allowe( 
of  ah  evening's  ball,  which  was  only  terminated  by 
fresh  breeze  or  a  fall  of  snow. 

Experience  having  shown  us  how  impossible  it  fvasl 
to  calculate  on  remaining  in  company  all  night,  we  senfl 
our  letters  on  board  in  the  evening,  and  our  precautionf 
was  most  fortunate,  as  by  daylight  on  the  17tb,  we  werJ 


ii 


PASSAGE  UP  BVDSON's   STRAIT. 


# 


rept  to  above  two  milei  from  the  ships^and  totally  beset. 

[smaM  seal  (phoca  hitpida)  was  shot  by  the  Fury,  and  ai 

lale  was  heard  blowing  close  to  us,although  we  did  not 

it.  For  several  days  during  our  detention  in  the  en- 

jince  of  Hudson^s  strait,  I  had  amused  ntyself  in  search- 

amongst  the  holes  of  water  which  occurred  between 

floes,  for  different  $!pecie8  of  moluscae,  which  the 

imen  call  "  whales^  food  ;"  and  on  this  day  in  parti- 

[lar,  was  fortunate  in  finding  several  beautiful  varie- 

|s,  of  which  1  made  drawings,  while  they  continued 

|ve.     Among  this  number  were  the  elegant  clio  bo- 

ilis,  various  heroes,  meduss,  argonautse,  and  crusta- 

of  the  shrimp  kind.     It  m^  not  here  be  irrelevant 

mention  a  certain  curious  slimy  matter  which  floats 

streams  of  many  fathoms  in  length  along  the  surface, 

jsembling  dirty  soap  suds  in  colour,  but  being  of  a. 

)re  oily  consistency.    Crantz  mentions  the  same  ap- 

^arance  in  Greenland,  and  supposes  it  to  be  the  spawQ 

muscles.     Several  northern  voyagers  also  notice  this 

stance,  but  each  one  assigfos  a  different  nature  to  iU 

lis  greedily  devoured  by  the  mallemucks.. 

We  made  but  little  progress  for  four  days,  and  on  the 

jst  found  ourselves  abreast  of  the  Lower  Savage  Isl- 

[ds.     I  have  avoided  as  much  as  possible  entering 

to  technical   subjects  in  this  my  private  journal; 

lich,  as  it  is  only  intended  for  the  inspection  of  my 

m  family,  I  am  aware  that  they  will  find  quite  dull 

[ough  without  the  assistance  of  the  daily  occurrences 

the  ship.    It  will,  however,  give  some  idea  of  the 

lenities  we  had  experienced,  when  I  observe  that 

were  19  days  in  passing  Resolution  Island,  a  distance 

about  60  miles ;  and  that  even  the  small  progress 

!.  made  was  by  the  assistance  of  the  tides.    Baffin, 

idson.  Fox,  and  others,  agree  in  saying,  that  out  of 

ree  tides  they  generally  made  one  to  the  westward ; 

IS  proving  that  the  floods  are  more  powerful,  and  of 

iger  duration,  than  the  ebbs.    This  must  have  been 

|r  case  also,  as  even  when  many  days  fast  to  a  doe, 

|d  close  beset,  we  have  found  ourselves  making  a  lit« 

westing. 


'  1'! 


10 


▲  BBAB  KIIAB1». 


i 
ill! 


lij: 


Id  the  eTening  the  ice  op«>ned  more  than  wai  usni 
and  we  had  a  good  run  until  near  midnight,  when  w^ 
made  fast.  During  the  evening  we  taw  a  very  lai 
hear  Iving  on  a  piece  of  ice,  a-h*  nd  of  us.  Two  boatj 
were  instantly  sent  in  chase  of  iiim,  ntid  had  approach 
cd  Tery  close  before  he  moved,  when,  appearing  td 
scent  them,  he  quietly  tooli  to  the  water.  It  was  WitH 
great  difficulty  be  was  killed,  and  he  boldly  turned  (^ 
race  his  pursuers  as  long  as  he  had  sufficient  strength 
for  he  swam  rapidly,  and  could  make  long  springs 
the  water.  As  these  animals,  although  very  fat  an 
bulky,  sink  the  instant  they  die,  he  was  lashed  to^ 
beat,  and  brought  alongside.  On  hoisting  him  in 
were  astonished  to  find  that  his  weight  ezceede 

leooibs! 

His  dimensions  were  as  follows : 

LENGTH. 

Snout  to  the  insertioii  of  the  tail 

The  head  only 

From  the  eye  to  the  ear  . 

Nose  to  the  centre  of  the  eye  . 

The  ear  alone  , 

The  tail  from  root  to  tip  . 

Fore  claws      .... 

Hinder  claws   .        . 

Tusks      ..... 


OIRTH. 


Round  the  body 
Neck 
Fore  leg  . 
Hind  leg 
Round  the  snout 
Round  the  forehead 


7  11 
3    4| 


2 
3 
1 
2 


3 
3 

1 


BEIOHT. 


Shoulder 
Rump 


4    9 
4 


▼I8IT  IBMI  TBB  BIKmAVX. 


11 


BMUDTH. 


■t?'-^  ffi 


The  paws 

Between  the  ears    . 
Between  the  tuskf    . 


0  10 

1  3 
0    3 


[The  animal  may  be  considered  at  an  nnutoaUv 

je  one,  and  the  weight  enormous.    I  hare  met  witia 

[t  two  faistances  of  larger  bears  having  been  killed^ 

they  w^re  by  Barentz^s  crew  at  Cherrie  Island* 

[Our  prize  was  very  fat,  his  colour  a  yellowish  white, 

the  hair  covered  with  a  kind  of  sticky  oil,  which 

ire  it  a  shining  appearance,  and«made  the  hands  foel 

[ly  clammy  after  touching  U.    On  opening  the  body 

It  noisome  effluvia  filled  the  whole  ship.    The 

^ell  was  very  pungent,  and  quite  different  from  any 

ler  I  had  ever  experienced.    The  heart  continaed' 

I  beat  on  being  taken  out,  although  the  animal  had! 

sn  three  hours  dead.    Our  seamen  ate  it  without 

liperiencing  any  of  those  bad  effects  which  old  nortii<^* 

navigators  attribute  to  bear's  flesh,  which  made 

ree  of  Barentz'  people  *^  so  sick  that  we  expected 

sy  would  have  died,  and  their  skins  peeled  off  from 

^ad  to  foot."     Having  procured  a  large  tub  of  blub- 

|r  from  the  bear,  the  carcass  was  thrown  overboard, 

the  two  first  walruses  we  had  seen,  soon  after  made 

sir  appearance  near  us,  probably  attracted  by  the 

iell.  ' 

|We  continued  beset  all  this  day  and  night  at  about 

miles  from  the  Savage  Islands.     In  the  afternoon 

foud  shouting  was  heard,  and  we  knew  that  the  Eski- 

lux  were  coming  off  to  us,  although  we  couH  not 

them  amongst  the  loose  ice  near  the  shore.    A 

[mber  of  people  were  at  length  observed  paddling 

»Dg  a  lane  of  water  which  led  to  the  Fufy,  and  pthers 

^re  seeir  carrying  their  canoes  over  pieces  of  ice, 

~  then  launching  them  again.     The  nearer  our  visi* 

approached,  the  more  vehement  were  their  criea 

tjoy  and  salutatioo.    The  loud  *•'•  H&,  haa,''  resounded 

Vm  all  quarters ;  for  our  people  again  repeated  it,  to 

:ourage  the  natives. 


y 


U 


DBSCElFTlOir  OV  TBK  HATITBt. 


t    We  BOOD  had  a  large  astemblage  of  canoes  alongside 
our  floe,  and  a  most  noisy  bat  merry  barter  instantlj 
took  place  :  all  of  08  beiOg  as  tinxious  to  purchase  E8ki<| 
maux  curiosities,  as  tbey  were  to  procure  iron  and 
European  toys.     In  less  than  an  hour  we  had  thirt}| 
canoes  round  us,  and  five  of  the  women^s  lai^e  boats 
or  ^*  Oomiaks  :^'  all  exactly  agreeing  with  the  descrif 
tion  which  Crantz  gives  of  the  boats  of  the  Oreenlan*] 
ders     As  we  are  now  entering  on  the  natural  territo 
ries  of  these  people,  I  need  not  give  a  full  description 
of  their  vessels  until  a  farther  experience  enables 
to  do  so  with  confidence.     An  old  man  steered  each 
woman^s  boat  by  an  oar,  and  appeared  to  have  a  kind 
of  authority  over  the  ladies.     Some  boys  were  also  iol 
the  boats ;  but  no  men,  except  the  steersman.    In  the! 
largest  of  the  Oomiaks  I  counted  twenty-one  persoDS 
It  is  quite  out  of  my  power  to  describe  the  shouts,  yella 
and  laughter  of  the  savages,  or  the  general  connisioal 
which  existed  for  two  or  three  hours.    The  femaleif 
were  at  first  vjcry  shy,  and  unwilling  to  come  on  thel 
ice,  but  bartered  every  thing  from  their  boats.    Thisl 
timidity,  however,  soon  wore  off,  and  they,  in  the  eD(),| 
became  as  noisy  and  boisterous  as  the  men. 

The  cast  of  countenance  of  these  Eskimaux  perfect'! 
]y  resembles  that  of  the  Greenlanders,  as  far  as  1  couldl 
judge  from  Crantz.  A  first  interview  does  not  author! 
ize  my  attempting  to  describe  their  features;  butll 
may  safely  say,  that  I  could  not,  even  in  a  dozen  visits,! 
have  discovered  the  regular  colour  of  their  ekin ;  from! 
its  being  so  covered  with  blood,  grease,  and  dirt,  as  to! 
baffle  all  attempts  to  trace  its  natural  hue.  Its  artificial! 
dye  was  of  a  dull  copper  or  brown  colour.  Amongst! 
some  of  the  young  girls  we  occasionally  could  discover! 
a  deep  purple  tinge  of  health  on  the  cheeks ;  and  the! 
skins  of  both  sexes  were  very  soft  and  greaSy  to  tbel 
touch.  The  hair  of  the  women  was  confined  in  a  knot| 
on  the  top  of  the  head,  or  on  the  forehead  in  some ; 
but  others,  like  men,  wore  it  in  glorious  confusion  alll 
over  their  necks  and  faces.  Whichever  way  it  wasl 
arranged  not  a  curl  was  to  be  seen,  and  the  jetty  black! 


I 


DBSOBIFTIOir  09  TBX  VATITBI. 


IS 


'  th«M  locks  gare  an  air  of  iMipresaible  wildnoM  to 
kch .  conntenance.  The  men  had  yery  scantj  or  no 
^rds,  and,  as  far  as  we  could  learn,  the  bodies  of  both 
ces  were  destitute  of  hair.  A  species  of  ophthalmia 
,>eared  rery  generally  to  exist ;  many  persons  had 
lit  their  eye-lashes,  and  some  were  nearly  blind.  A 
|ry  curious  kind  of  wooden  eye-shade  was  in  general 
and  was  so  contrived  as  to  admit  but  little  of  the 

sling  glare  of  the  ice. 
[On  the  knuckles  of  some  of  the  men  I  observed 
Mte  leprous  blotches,  of  the  same  dead-looking  cot- 
r,  when  contrasted  with  their  dark  skin,  as  I  have 
Covered  in  similar  cases  amongst  the  Arabs.  One 
limed  person  only  was  seen,  and  this  was  a  boy  about 
^ht  years  of  age,  who  had  lost  an  arm  below  the  el- 
|w,  and  his  lip  appeared  also  to  have  been  injured, 
le  poor  little  fellow  seemed  pale  and  melancholyi 
>wing  no  wish  to  mingle  in  the  sports  of  his  country- 
m ;  on  which  account  1  gave  him  a  fine  brass  button 
[put  him  in  cipirits. 

It  is  scarcely  possible  to  conceive  anything  mor^ 
1y  or  disgusting  than  the  countenances  of  the  old 
^men ;  who  had  inflamed  eyes,  wrinkled  skin,  black 
^th,  and,  in  fact,  such  a  forbidding  set  of  features  as 
krcely  could  be  called  human :  to  which  might  be 
led  their  dress,  which  was  such  as  gave  them  the 
learance  of  aged  Ourang  Outangs.  Frobisher's  crew 
|y  be  pardoned  for  having,  in  such  superstitious 
les  as  A.D.  1576,  taken  one  of  these  ladies  for  t 
|tch ;  of  whom  it  is  said,  ^*  The  old  wretch  whom  onr, 
lors  supposed  to  be  a  witch,  had  her  buskins  pulled 

to  see  if  she  was  cloven-footed ;  and  being  vei^ 
ly  and  deformed,  we  let  her  go."  The  young  chil- 
m  were  pretty,  lively,' and  well-behaved. 

.he  dresses  of  the  Eskimaux  were  chiefly  composed 
[seals'  skins,  but  many  articles  of  clothing  consisted 
Ihose  of  bears,  deer,  wolves,  foxes,  hares,  and  birdS| 
[seMred  in  a  neat  and  even  elegant  manner,  with  the 

iws  of  animals.    The  habits  of  the  men  differing  lay 


'l  I 


14 


Dsicauprittir  «i  the  itatitbi 


tome  dagret  from  thoM  of  th^  women,  1  ihaU  diici 
«ach  leparately. 

One  or  two  jacketa  of  teala^  •kin,beTiiig  no  openlngj 
In  the  front,  reach  as  low  down  w  the  vpr^er  part  of 
the  tUgh.    The  outer  one  hat  a  hood  ior  coToring 
(he  head,  but  at  this  teason  of  the  year  li  was  raiferej 
4o  hang  between  the  shoulders.    The  browsers  have 
no  waistbands,  but  are  drawn  by  strings  tight  rouD^ 
the  body.    Thev  descend  to  below  the  knee,  whenc^ 
the  boots  complete  the  clothing  of  the  legs.    Thej 
are  of  seals'  hide;  and   half-boots  of  variegated  sViiil^ 
nre  sometimes  worn  over  all.    The  soles  of  the?B  uxv 
«omposed  of  strong  skin  deprived  of  hair,  and  p«rJ 
feotly  impervious  to  water.    Mittens  of  deer  or  Heult , 
akin,  warmly   lined,  and  fitting  close   to    the   handJ 
were  generally  worn.    Of  all  the  articles   of  rnala^ 
atUre  there  are  other  complete  sets  which  resembl^ 
Ihem  in  form,  but  are  made  of  the  intestines  of  seal 
or  the  skins  of  animals  deprived  of  hair,  and  whicl 
by  being  water-proof,  protect  the  fur  clothing  fron 
Ihe  rain,  or  spray  of  the  sea.    A  few  of  these  dresses 
which  we  purchased,  were  transparent,  resemblind 
broad  ribands  of  white   oil-skin :  and  formed  of  thq 
eeals'  entrails.    Some  gloves  resembling  strong  parcl 
ment  proved  a  great  comfort  to  our  leadsmen  whil^ 
sounding  in  frosty  weather. 

The  jackets  of  the  women,  althouffh  of  the  eam^ 
materials  as  those  of  the  men,  differ  from  them  v«i 
essentially  in  form.    I  however  do  not  think   tbij 
ladies  hrve  been  judicious  in  the  fashion  of  <th{ 
clothes,  wMch   givo  them  a  most   moi^eylike  a; 
pearance. 

A  small  peak  or  flap  hangs  down  in  front  to  thd 
depth  of  about  six  inclies,  but  its  extreme  narrownea 
renders  it  a  very  useleud  a;ripendage ;  while  bebl 
there  is  another  flap  or  'iMt,  \;.'v'  ii  read  .^  nearly  ti 
ihe  ground,  is  about  sii.  ji   eig^t  inches  broad,  w 
jroonded  at  the  lower  extremity.    Much  attention 
maid  to  ornamenting  these  flaps,  by  sewing  very  nea 
i\DrdeT8  of  different  coloured  skins  round  their  edged 


OV  THX  SAYAOB  IlLAlTBI^ 


at 


19 


:*h«  boodi  of  the  women^s  coats  are  alio  mQcb  lorgvi 
laa  tboM  of  the  men,  belog  for  the  purpose  of 
irrylnif  their  joung  children  stark  naked  against 
le  back. 

The    arrangement   of  the   colours    of  skins,  and 

>e  formation  of  their  clothing,  are  very  strictly  at- 

mded  to.    Thus    the  dark  and  mottled  part  ot  the 

ial  is  placed  in  the  centre  of  the  back  or  breast,  while 

le  lighter  shades  are  on  the  sides.     In  the  ileeves^ 

he  fore  and  back  piece  are  o/ten  of  two  colours,  and 

>ie  rxifSi  also   of  a  diffisrent  hue;     As  each  of  the 

|uii;droas  rarieties  of  seal  affords  a  peculiar  skin,  it 

lay  be  imagined  that  these  people  avail  themselves 

If  this  in  order   to    arrange   the    most  opponite  and 

riossy  colours  in  the  same  habit.     The  women  wear 

[o  trowsers,  or,  at  all  events,  very  few  do  so.    They 

ave,  however,  rather   a  complicated   substitute   for 

ese    indispensables ;    for    round    the    loins   a  tight 

ather  girth  or  girdle  is  laced,  one  part  of  it  passing 
etween  the  thighs.  Long  stockings,  or,  more  pro- 
erly  speaking,  legs  of  trowsers,  are  then  drawn  on, 
nd   attached  to  the  hind  part   of  the  girdle.     Yet, 

tb  these  contrivances,  a  portion  of  the  stomach  and 
pper  leg  is  shown  naked.     The  boots  were  the  same 

those  worn  by  the  men. 

It  was  impossible  to  distinguish  sexes  by  the  drr'sses 
fthe  children;  some  of  their  jackets  having  one  lail,' 
thers  two,  and  many  none  at  all. 

In  this  short  account  of  the  clothing  of  our  visitorfl, 
t  must  be  remembered  that  it  is  the  summer  dress  1 
escribe :  what  their  winter  costume  may  be  is  merely 
ODJectural.  v  . 

A  very  singular  custom   prevailed   amongst  them- 
in  conclwMng  the  most  trifling  bargain ;  for  no  sooner 
ad  the^  received  an  article  in  exchange  for  their 
oods,  than  it  was  instantly  applied  to  the  tongue,  and 

ked  several  times  previous  to  being  put  away  hi 
ecarity.*^    Whatever  might  be  the  artlde  given,  even 

*  Gapt^B  Cook  meottoitt  a  carious  castom  at  the  Isle  of  Am- 
kterdau  which  much  resembles  this.  "  All 


w 

"X<'. 


16 


DESCBIPTIOir  Olt  THE  fTATIYES 


|i 


5  I 


if  ft'sha^  nzor,  the  bar|fMfi  tv^liorbt  concluded  until  it| 
had  gone  through  the  above  ceremony ;  and  1  frequent* 
ly  shuddered  at  seeing  the  children  draw  a  razor  overl 
their  tongue  as  unconcernedly  as  if  it  had  been  anl 
ivory  paper-knife.  We  had  a  convincing  proof  of  the; 
importance  attached  to  the  above  custom,  in  one  poor 
vroman  whom  I  detected  going  over  the  side  with  anl 
ice-axe  upon  her  shoulder,  which,  fancying  she  had] 
stolen  it,  I  ordered  to  be  taken  from  her.  This  shel 
loudly  and  firmly  resisted,  crying  bitterly,  and  looking;! 
anxiously  round  for  the  person  from  whom  she  had! 
received  it,  making  signs  that  it  had  been  given  inl 
exchange  for  a  very  handsome  seal  skin  jacket  whichl 
she  had  been  observed  to  wear,  and  at  the  same  timel 
licking  every  part  of  the  axe,  to  show  it  had  been  al 
bargain.  By  this  we  were  convinced  that  some  onel 
had  been  despicable  enough  to  give  this  poor  creaturel 
an  article  which  he  knew  would  be  taken  from  herl 
again.  When  a  button  or  other  trifle  was  given  as  al 
present,  without  demanding  an  exchange,  it  did  noti 
receive  the  customary  licking.  Nothing  can  equall 
the  eagerness  for  barter  evinced  by  these  savages,  oil 
the  frenzy  they  exhibited  to  possess  a  nail  or  aDjJ 
other  trifle.  To  describe  the  various  modulations  off 
their  screams  of  joy  or  anxiety  would  he  absolutely! 
impossible.  We,  however,  in  the  general  confusion,! 
were  of  opinion  that  the  word  used  for  barter  was! 
^'  Chi  bo;''  for  it  was  repeated  in  every  key  to  whichl 
the  human  voice  can  be  raised.  ^*  Pille  tay"  was  also! 
clamorously  and  frequently  repeated;  and  we  had  nol 
doubt  that  it  implied  '•^  Oive  me,"  all  ages  and  sexesl 
being  most  indefatigable  beggars.  They  were,  how*f 
ever,  traders  as  long  as  they  had  any  stock.  From  the! 
men  we  purchased  oil,  weapons,  and  ivory ;  the  wo-l 
men  supplied  us  with  skins,  ornaments,  little  pouchesj 

Mh- 

**  All  articles  given  in  exchange  were  lifted  to  tlie  head.    Some 
times  they  would  looli  at  our  goods,  and  if  not  approved  returol 
them  back  ;  but  whenever  thev  applied  them  to  the  head  the  barf 
gain  was  infallibly  struck.*'-- Mcona  Figwf «. 


Imeans  so 


^''  OT  THE   SAYAGE  ISLANDS/  ^' 


ir 


LS  given  as  a 


[&G.;  and  from  the  children  were  procured  small- toys 
[and  models,  their  parents-  directing  them  in  their  bar-  - 
rains  and  beggings  also.  There  was  one  little  child, 
r ho,  having  no  merchandize  to  dispose  of,  ran  about 
lolding  up  the  red  legs  of  a  dovekie,  in  hopes  that 
their  colour  might  attract  a  customer ;  but  meeting 
nth  no  success,  the  poor  little  trader  was  returning 
disconsolate  to  his  mother,  when  a  button  which  I 
j^ave  him  put  the  poor  child  quite  into  raptures,  and 
inderwent  more  Idssing  than  button  ever  received 
}efore. 

Both  sexes  eagerly  sold  their  clothes,  and  some  went 

iway  nearly  naked,  notwithstanding  the  severity  of  the 

weather.     I  must  however  say,  injustice  to  the  softer 

sex,  that  they  were  more  correct  in  the  choice  of  what 

)arts  of  their  clothing  they  would  dispose  of^  than  the 

len ;  for^I  do  not  remember  to  have  seen  a  single  lady 

)art  with  her  breeches,  while  the  gentlemen  were  by  no 

[means  so  scrupulous,  and  evinced  no  shame  at  appear- 

|ing  nearly  naked. 

A  nail  was  considered  a  fair  equivalent  for  a  spear 
rith  ivory  head,  and  with  Kne  and  bladder  attached  to 
it.  Small  pieces  o^'iron  hoop  were  equally  valuable ; 
md  a  knife  might  purchase  any  article.  Saws,  hoi^- 
iver,  were  the .  most  eagerly  inquired  for ;  and,  had 
[iny  been  produced  at  first,  nothing  else  would  have 
)een  taken.     In  all  exchanges  the  natives  showed  as 

mch  joy  as  if  they  had  acquired  the  greatest  riches, 
Uthough  in  many  instances  they  were  losers  by  th^ 
Wgain.     '         <  ; 

I  had  every  reason  to  suppose  that  a  woman  wogld 
actually  have  sold  her  child  to  a  marine  who  was  offer- 
ing a  knife  for  it;  and,  on  mentioning  the  circumstance 
3n  board,  Mr.  Sherer  assured  me  that  a  man.  and  woman 
Piad  been  very  pressing  for  him  to  buy  a  baby  also. 

)ur  ignorance,  at  the  time,  of  the  language  and  cus- 
toms of  these  people,  might  have  led  us  into  error  in 
this  respect,  although  appearances  were  as.  L  hajte 
stated.  ■  .:v-.-.-.^.       -v"  •^'-^"— -' 

The  strangers  were  so  well'  pleased  in  ov  r  society,. 
2* 


^1^ 


•     It'?! 


13 


DEsquirTiON  o?r  Tins  katiyeb 


t|ifi,t  they  showed  po  wish  to  leave  ns,  anil,  when  thcj 
Ijiairket  fiad  quite  ceased,  they  be^ao  dancing  and  l^ay<[ 
log  jrith  pur  people  on  the  ice  alongside :  this  ezercisel 
again  set  many  of  their  noses  bleedipg  (which  at  theiiE 
j6rat  anrivai  we  had  observed  to  be  the  case),  and  difrl 
covered  to  us  a  most  nasty  custom,  which  accounte(l| 
Cpr  their  gory  faces ;  and  which  was,  that  as  fast  as  the! 
l>lood  ran  down,  they  scraped  it  with  the  fingers  into] 
their  mouths,  appearing  to  consider  it  as  a  refreshmeBtl 
or  dainty,  if  we  might  judge  by  the  zest  with  whicli| 
they  smacked  their  lips  at  each  supply.     Some  of  the! 
most  quiet  came  on  board  the  ship,  and  behaved  verj 
well ;  while  others  walked  quietly  alongside,  gazic 
occasionally  at  the  men,  but  more  frequently  at  somej 
quarters  of  Old  English  beef,  which  were  hanging  ove^ 
the  stem,  and  had  a  most  attractive  appearance.    Some 
slices  were  cut  off  and  thrown  down  to  tbemi  ^n^  thesel 
they  instantly  devoured  with  great  satisfaction ;  but  then 
refused  to  eat  the  biscuit  which  was  offered  at  the  same 
time.    One  woman  in  particular  attracted  general  no 
tice  by  her  unwearied  application  for  presents,  and  bjj 
feigning  to  be  hurt,  and  crying  to  excite  compassion] 
in  which  she  no  sooner  succeeded,  than  a  loud  and  trij 
umphiant  laugh  proclaimed  the  cheat.    Of  all  horribla 
yells,  this  laugh  was  the  most  fiend-like  I  ever  heardj 
imd  her  coimtenance  corresponded  with  her  voice 
She  had  lost  all  her  front  teeth,  with  the  exception 
the  eye  teeth ;  \ier  mouth  was  plentifully  omamenteij 
by  blue  tattoo-Unes ;  and  a  vast  profusion  of  blacli 
straight,  and  matted  hair,  hung  all  round  her  head  aDi| 
fiice.    At  her  back  was  an  imp  not  more  prepossessii 
in  features  than  herself,  and  screaming  itself  black! 
^e  face.  Although  the  countenances  of  the  other  youi 
children  were  generally  rather  pretty  than  otherwise 
^et,  from  their  dress  and  manner  of  walking,  they  mighd 
without  any  great  stretch  of  the  imagination,  havJ 
been  taken  for  the  cubs  of  wild  animals ;  particular!! 
some  who  were  laid  for  safety  in  the  bottom  of  thj 
iromen^s  boats,  amongst  blubber,  the  entrails  of  seali 
l(c.,  of  which  they  were  continually  sucking  whatevej 
fr«s  nearest  to  them. 


I     !    !'■ 


I  I 


m-fur  Tfn  lAT^s  inumiSk  t 


# 


In  order  to  amwe  our  new  acquaintances  as  miicfa  ts 
>0fl8ible  tlie  fiddler  was  sent  on  the  ice,  where  he  in^ 
itantly  found  a  most  delightful  set  of  dancers,  of  whom 
some  of  the  women  kept  pretty  good  time.  Their 
>nly  figure  consisted  in  stamping  and  jumping  with  all 
^heir  might.  Oqr  musician,  who  was  a  lively  fellow, 
boon  caught  the  infection,  and  began  cutting  capers  also, 
^n  a  short  time  every  one  on  the  Qoe,  officers,  men, 
ind  savages,  were  dancing  together,  and  exhibited  one 
)f  the  most  extraordinary  sights  I  ever  witnessed. 
)De  of  our  seamen,  of  a  fresh  ruddy  complexion,  ex- 
sited  the  admiration  of  all  the  young  females,  who 
latted  his  face  and  danced  ro!,4d  him  wherever  he 
rent.    I  was  half  inclined  to  suppose  they  fancied  him 

woman,  although  he  was  nearly  six  feet  high,  and 
stout  in  proportion.  I  am  sorry  to  give  but  a  bad  ac- 
count of  the  morals  of  our  visitors,  some  of  whom  were 
rery  importunate  in  offering  their  wives  in  exchange 
jTor  a  knife,  and  the  women  as  anxiously  pressing  the 
)argain. ' 

The  exertion  of  dancing  so  exhilarated  the  Eski- 
laux,  that  they  had  the  appearance  of  being  bolster^ 
>usly  drunk,  and  played  many  extraordinary  pranks. 
Amongst  others,  it  was  a  favourite  joke  to  run  slily 
behind  the  seamen,  and,  shouting  loudly  in  one  ear,  to 
dve  them  at  the  same  time  a  very  smart  slap  on  the 
Ether. 

While  looking  on,  I  was  sharply  saluted  in  this  man- 
ner, and,  of  course,  was  quite  startled,  to  the  gredi 
^musement  of  the  by-standers :  the  joke  consisted  in 
laking  the  person  struck  look  astonished,  which,  ad 
lay  be  supposed,  was  always  the  result. 

Our  cook,  who  was  a  most  active  and  unwearied 
imper,  became  so  great  a  favourite,  that  every  one 
^oxed  his  ears  so  soundly,  as  to  oblige  the  poor  mah 
0  retire  from  such  boisterous  marlu  of  approbation. 
Lroongst  other  sports,  some  of  the  Eskimaux  ratheir 
loughly,  but  with  great  good  humour,  challenged  our 
people  to  wrestle.  One  man,  in  particular,  who  had 
irown  several  of  hit  countrymen,  attacked  an  officer 


I: 


i  I 


;.  'ill 

i 


iM 


Hi! 


SO 


DEdCmpTION  OF  THE  STATIVES 


of  a  very  strong  make,  but  the  poor  savage  was  in- 
stantly thrown,  and  with  no  very  easy  fall;  yet  although! 
every  one  was  laughing  at  him,  he  bore  it  with  exeml 
plary  good  humour.  The  same  officer  afforded  usl 
much  diversion,  by  teaching  a  large  party  of  women  tol 
bow,  curtsy,  shake  hands,  turn  their  toes  out^  and  performi 
sundry  other  polite  accomplishments;  the  whole  partyj 
master  and  pupils,  preserving  the  strictest  gravity. 

As  sailors  seldom  fail  to  select  some  whimsical  objecil 
on  whom  to  pass  their  jokes,  they  soon  found  one  inj 
the  person  of  an  ugly  old  man,  possessing  a  great  stockl 
of  impudence,  and  a  most  comic  countenance.  He  hadl 
sold  all  his  clothes,  with  the  exception  of  his  breeches,! 
and  in  this  state  they  made  him  parade  the  decks,! 
honoured  by  the  appellation  of  king.  Some  rum  was! 
offered  to  this  exalted  personage,  but  he  spat  it  out! 
again  with  signs  of  great  disgust.  In  order  to  shoMfl 
him  that  it  might  be  drank,  one  of  the  seamen  was  toldl 
to  finish  the  glass,  but  he  refused  to  touch  it  ^'  afterl 
such  a  brute.*^  The  boatswain,  however,  with  muchl 
humour^  and  a  knowing  look,  stepped  forward,  saying,! 
'^  Here,  hand  me  the  glass,  I'll  drink  with  the  gentle-f 
man,^'  and  nodding  a  health,  which  was  returned  bjj 
our  king,  he  drank  off  the  grog.       *  -    '  •   >  -  ?  v. 

Sugar  was  offered  to  many  of  the  grown  people,  who} 
disliked  it  very  much,  and,  to  our  surprise,  the  young 
children  were  equally  averse  to  it. 
;  Towar<te  midnight  all  our  men,  except  the  watch  od 
deck,  turned  in  to  their  beds,  and  the  fatigued  andl 
hungry  Eskimaux  returned  to  their  boats  to  take  theiij 
supper,  which  consisted  of  lumps  of  raw  flesh  and 
blubber  of  seals,  birds,  entrails,  &c. ;  licking  their  finj 
gers  with  great  zest,  and  with  knives  or  fingers  scrap] 
ing  the  blood  and  grease  which  ran  down  their  chiD| 
into  their  months. 

I  walked  quietly  round  to  look  at  the  differenl 
groupes,  and  in  one  of  the  women's  boats  1  observed 
a  young  girl,  whom  we  had  generally  allowed  to  bfl 
the  belle  of  the  party,  busily  employed  in  tearing 
slice  from  the  belly  of  a  seal,  and  biting  it  into  small 


OT  THE   SAVAGE  ISLANDS. 


IKF 


>iece8  for  distribution  to  those  around  her.    I  also  re- 
marked that  the  two  sexes  took  their  meal  apart,  the 
len  on  the  ice,  the  women  sitting  in  their  boats.    At 
lidnight  they  all  left  us,  so  exhausted  by  their  day^s  ex- 
ertions, that  they  were  quite  unable  either  to  screamer 
lugh.    The  men  paddled  slowly  away,  and  the  womeni 
>wed  off  with  half  their  party  asleep.    A  few  went 
Inly  to  a  piece  of  floating  ice  astern,  where  they  lay 
[own  for  the  night,  while  the  others  made  their  way 
the  shore,  which  was  about  eight  miles  distant. 
During  the  whole  time  these  people  remained,  they 
)peared  to  place  the  most  implicit  confidence  in  the 
fonesty  of  our  men,  and  when  the  canoes  were  hauled 
|p  on  the  ice  they  left  them  unprotected,  and  wander- 
Id  about,  without  any  fear  that  the  iron  or  other  arti- 
lles  which  they  contained  should  be  stolen  froni  them, 
jome  of  our  people  took  the  canoes  and  paddled  about, 
the  great  amusement  of  their  owners,  who  feared 
|o  damage  being  done  to  them. 
During  the  time  our  people  lay  off  in  the  boats, 
ley  afforded  much  diversion,  by  calling  the  Newfound- 
ind  dog  to  them,  and  making  him  fetch  and  carry, 
phis  animal  had  at  first  caused  some  alarm  by  running 
layfully  after  the  children,  and  pulling  their  tails,  but 
le  dread  soon  wore  off.    My  bjack  cat  was  considered 
[far  more  formidable  animal,  and  1  could  persuade  no 
le  to  touch  it. 

A  few  instances  of  dishonesty  occurred  where  iron 
^y  neglected  in  view ;  but  it  is  scarcely  to  be  wonder- 
that  such  a  temptation  should  prove  irresistible : 
id  small  golden  bars  been  thrown  in  the  streets  of 
)ndon,  how  would  they  have  fared  ? 
In  drawing  out  this  long  account  of  one  visit,  my 
rolixity  may  be  excused,  when  I  state,  that  it  is 
lerely  intended  co  amuse  my  own  fire-side  circle ;  yet^ 
)luminou8  as  it  is,  1  have  withheld  any  account  of  the 
iture,  and  general  appearance  of  the  people ;  or  any 
Ascription  of  their  boats  and  instruments,  being  certain 
''seeing  more  of  them,  la  the  mean  time,  however, 
I  may  not  be  oointeresting  to  quote  the  brief  bat  ac- 


m 
•5,' 


*' 


'11' 


l.i 


1 


It 


mil 


m 
i 


;!    ii 


23 


DESOBIPTION  07  THE  NATITEB. 


curate  description  of  them  as  given  by  that  able  old  { 
nayigator  John  Oavies,  in  the  year  1586. 

*^  The  people  are  of  good  stature,  well  proportioned,! 
with  small  slender  hands  and  feet,  broad  visages,  small 
eyes,  wide  mouths,  the  most  part  unbearded,  great  lipsl 
and  close  teethed;  they  are  much  given  to  bleed,,  and! 
therefore  stop  their  noses  with  deer^s  hair,  or  that  of| 
an  elan.  They  are  very  simple  in  their  conversation,} 
but  marvellously  given  to  thieving,  especially  of  iron; 
they  did  eat  all  their  meat  raw.'' 

On  the  morning  of  the  23d  we  remained  nearly  be- 
set ;  yet  although  there  was  scarcely  an  opening| 
amongst  the  ice,  the  indefatigable  Eskimaux  again 
paid  us  a  visit.  One  solitary  canoe  first  reached  usi 
and  the  owner  finding  no  competitors,  and  that  he  was 
likely  to  have  the  market  to  himself,  with  gread 
shrewdness  exhibited  only  one  article  at  a  time,  an(( 
kept  at  such  a  distance  from  the  ship,  as  to  preclude 
all  possibility  of  our  overlooking  his  cargo.  He  howj 
ever  trifled  so  long  as  to  lose  all  his  customers,  anij 
was  quite  In  despair  on  seeing  several  more  canoej 
coming  off.  Every  thing  he  possessed  was  now  drawn 
from  his  boat  and  pressingly  offered,  and  amongst  othej 
things  he  produced  a  fine  unicorn's  horn,  which, 
course,  readily  found  a  purchaser. 

Two  lai^e  Oomiak's  (women,  or  family  boats) 
length  came  alongside,  filled  with  women  and  youn 
children,  and  steered,  as  we  had  before  observed  to 
the  case,  each  by  an  old  man.     These  people  wen 
00  sooner  alongside  than  they  commenced  singing  an 
dancing  with  great  Tehemence ;  and  to  my  surprise 
old  blind  woman  joined  in  the  merriment  with  as  gred 
aipparent  delight  as  her  companions.     In  this  boat  m 
a  man  who  had  lost  one  of  his  arms      Several  sing^ 
Canoes  hung  alongside  by  ropes  which  were  thrown  I 
them,  and  in  this  state,  with  a  fresh  breeze,  we 
until  we  came  amongst  some  heavy  ice,  when  our  vii 
tors  were  warned  to  take   precautions  against  beiii 
jammed.     Such,  however,  was  their  ardour  for  bartei 
that  we  could  neither  induce  them  to  mwe,  or  to 


1  ( 


PA88AOX  UP  HUDSON'S  STBAXT. 


UtentioD  to  oar  signs,  and  as  to  hearing  us  amidst  their 
>wn  din,  it  was  impossible.    At  length,  as  we  eipected, 
woman^s  boat  was  badly  stove  by  a  piece  of  ice  cnt- 
kng  one  of  the  bottom  skins.    Silence  immediately  en- 
led,  and  it  was  pleasing  to  observe  the  attention  which 
Iras  paid  to  the  sufferers  by  all  the  men,  who  left  off 
rading,  and  assisted  to  haul  the  damaged  boat  on  a 
fiece  of  ice  for  the  purpose  of  repairing  her,  and  even 
lose  who  could  not  be  of  any  service  remained  he- 
kind  with  the  rest. 

After  a  time,  a  fine  lively  boy,  in  a  most  elegant 
^hite  canoe,  came  paddling  up  to  us,  and  keeping  way 
jrith  the  ship,  endeavoured  to  insinuate  himself  into 
hTf  good  graces,  by  talking  and  laughing  incessantly, 
le  succeeded  to  his  wish,  and  was  enriched  by  pre- 
snts  of  buttons,  nails,  beads,  and  pieces  of  old  iron,  all 
which  he  acknowledged  by  a  peculiarly  joyous  cry, 
the  same   time  cramming  them   into  his  mouth, 
^hen  this  store-house  was  filled,  he  made  as  long  a 
)eech  as  his  riches  would  permit,  and  turning  for  the 
lore,  parted  from  us  with  the  swiftness  of  an  arrow. 
On  the  24th,  to  our  infinite  astonishment,  we  did 
)t  see  a  single  piece  of  ice,  and  in  consequence  beat 
to  the  N.W.  without  interruption,  until  the  evening 
the  25th,  when  we  were  o£r  the  Upper  Savage  Isl- 
id.    Parties  here  landed  from  each  ship,  and  the  re- 
site  observations  being  takefi,  we  all  set  out  on  ex- 
brsionsjlo  explore  the  island.    It  is  high  and  rocky, 
nncipally  of  a  reddish  granite,  but  producing  also 
iein  and  sandstone.    Its  length  is  about  three  miles, 
breadth  two.    Near  where  we  landed  were  quanti- 
Bs  of  bones,  which  we  conjectured  to  be  those  of  the 
ilrus.    Much  frozen  snow  lay  in  the  clefts  of  the 
cks,  whence  issued  small  streams  of  water.    On  the 
of  the  isle  were  many  pools  beautifully  transpa- 
lot,  near  one  of  which  a  grouse  (tetrao  lagopus),  in 
imer  plumage,  was  killed     In  thr  marshy  ground, 
|ar  the  water,  the  vegetation  was  extremely  luxuriant. 
Idst  the  various  mosses  and  grasses,  the  delicate 
lite  flower  of  the  andromeda,  and  brilliant  yellow 


•if! 

'I,  liM'-l 


i.'4 


PASSAGE  VP  HUDSOH's  S^TBAIT* 


m 


i: 


i  ! 


!'  i: 


:i, 


: 


I 


poppy,  were  eminently  conspicuous.    In  drier  placet] 
a  beautiful  species  of  buttei  -cup  was  very  abundant, 
was  also  the  dwarf  willow,  of  which  I  had  heard  sil 
much,  but  had  never  seen  before.    This  arctic  tred 
grows  close  to  the  ground,  and  spreads  its  lil!iputiai| 
branches  over  an  extent  of  from  one  to  three'^feet.    Iti 
stalk  rarely  exceeds  three  inches  in  circumference 
and  all  the  wood  is  twisted  and  deformed.    Gn  man^l 
of  the  higher  parts  of  the  rock  were  piled  small  heaf 
of  stones,  near  one  of  which  I  found  part  of  a  humaij 
skull.    Two  hares  and  several  little  snow  buntins  wera 
seen.     Fragments  of  a  whale's  skeleton,  driftwood,  and 
ivory,  marked  by  instruments,  showed  that  Eskimaui 
had  at  some  time  been  settled  here ;  and  fire-placej 
were  also  seen  by  many  of  our  party.     Footsteps 
some  cloven-footed    animal,    probably  the   rein-deer 
were  frequently  met  with.    Moskitoes  were  very  ni 
merous,  as   were   also   common   flies.     Amongst  thd 
lichens,  I  observed  a  very  diminutive  insect  resembliD|( 
a  mite  in  figure,  but  possessing  great  activity  of  mo 
lion.    It  was  of  the  most  brilliant  scarlet,  and  tingeil 
the  fingers  of  the  same  hue  when  taken  between  themj 
being,  on  account  of  its  extreme  delicacy,  instantlj 
crushed. 

On  the  27th,  28th,  and  until  the  evening  of  the  29tb 
Fhen  we  were  beset,  we  made  some  little  prioress 
the  various  state  of  the  weather  and  ice  permittei| 
The  aurora  boreaiis  was  once  seen  during  tlids  time 
the  west.     It  was  faint,  and  did  not  exhibit  any  inteij 
esting  peculiarities  of  appearance. 

A  small  drag  net,  let  down  to  the  bottom  in  64  fa| 
thoms,  procured  for  us  some  interesting  specimens 
moluscae,  and  several  beautifully  delicate  varieties  i 
white  coral.     Amongst  the  polypi  was  one  of  a  ver 
singular    description,    and    of  a   pale    pink   colou^ 
On  being  taken  into  the  hand  it  threw  out  sever 
small  balls  of  various  sizes  from  that  of  a  hemp  seed 
the  bigness  of  a  white  currant,  which  fruit  they  almc 
exactly  resembled  in  colour,  transparency,  and  consi^ 
tence.    Their  form  was  perfectly  globular ;  and,  eve 


MP 


VISIT  FROM  THE  NATIVES. 


^ith  the  aid  of  a  microscope,  I  could  discover  no  opeu 

ig  in  them.     Some,  on  being  boiled,  became  soft  and 

labby,  although  they  did  not  burst ;  and  others,  which 

put  in  spirits,  retained  to  a  certain  extent  their  first 

)pearaDce.     With  the  above  animals  many  fragments 

If  stone  were  brought  from  the  bottom,  and  these  con- 

)sted  of  granite,  gneiss,  red  feldspar,  and  limestone. 

ireat  quantities  of  seals  were  seen  during  the  day  in 

;tive  chase  of  each  other  in  the  water,  which  the 

>amen  call  a  seaPs  wedding. 

""he  30th,  end  great  part  of  the  31st,  we  were  so 
iveloped  in  fog  as  to  be  under  the  necessity  of  keep- 
ig  company  by  signal  guns,  and  during  the  whole  of 
lis  ti.      had  a  most  favourable  wind,  of  which  in  this 
iknown  coast  we  dared  not  take  advantage.     When 
cleared,  however,  we  again  made  some  progress 
long  shore,  and  in  the  evening  saw  Cape  Dorset  and 
[alisbury  Island.     While  off  the  first  of  these  places 
ire  observed  several  canoes  using  every  exertion  to 
)me  up  with  us,  and  we  waited  to  receive  them. 
ight  kayaks   (men's  canoes)   and  one  oomiak  soon 
^ined,  but  were  very  unwilling  to  come  near  us.     A 
)at  was  therefore  lowered  from  each  ship  to  go  to 
lem,  and  purchase  curiosities,  as  well  as  a  supply  of 
|l  for  the  use  of  the  ships.     All  the  men  wore  jackets 
itirely  composed  of  the  skins  of  birds,  having  the  fea- 
rers next  the  body,     fhis  dress  appeared  to  have  un- 
ifgone  no  more  curing  than  in  scraping  the  fat  from 
le  inside  of  the  skins,  and  afterwards  drying  them, 
[be  women  were  clothed  as  our  former  visitors,  but 
^ir  dresses  appeared  neither  oo  good,  clean,  or  neat- 
sewed.     Both  sexes,  however,  had  cleaner  faces,  or 
[uch  fairer  complexions ;  and  such  is  taste,  and  so  sin- 
ilarly  it  varies,  that  there  was  one  of  the  young  girls 
lom  we  considered  as  very  pretty,     i  was  happy  in 
^ing  able  to  see  the  sail  of  the  oomiak,  which  was 
•shaped,   and  formed  of  the  intestines  of  walrus, 
Iwed  together  with  great  neatness,  in  breadths   of 
)out  four  inches.    The  mast,  which  was  placed  well 
cward,  was  made  of  wood,  and  bad  a  very  neatly 


w 


m 


VISIT  FBOM  TBB  NATIYBS 

formed  iyory  sheave  for  the  halyards  to  run  on.  Ul 
this  boat  w«  found  but  little  to  purchase,  with  the  exj 
ceptiou  of  oil.    Another  commodity  h;>wever  was  ofJ 

.  fered,  in  the  shape  of  a  young  child,  which,  as  it  realj 
ly  appeared,  the  mother  would  have  sold  me.  I  hadi 
knife,  and  a  piece  of  iron  in  my  hand,  and  with  thtj 
latter  wished  to  purchase  a  seaPs  skin,  but  the  woma^ 
having  taken  a  fancy  to  the  knife,  endeavoured  to  oli 
tain  it  by  alternate  offers  of  seal's  skins  and  bags  of  oil] 
At  length,  of  her  own  accord,  she  lifted  up  a  littla 
child,  of  about  four  years  of  age,  and  apparently  a  girlj 
offering  it  with  one  hand,  and  holding  out  the  other  tj 
receive  the  knife.  Can  it  be  possible  that  in  ^  thre( 
instances  I  should  have  been  mistaken,  and  that  the  wo 
men  would  not  sell  their  infants '?  All  1  can  learn 
these  people  certainly  gives  them  great  praise  for  ad 
fection  to  their  children.  This  however  may  at  somj 
future  time  be  cleared  up. 

<■  An  old  man  had  charge  of  the  ladies  as  usual,  aai 
was  not  very  ceremonious  with  them,  giving  to  thosj 
who  stood  in  his  w^y  pretty  smart  shoves  and  blov 

.with  his  elbows.  Amongst  the  traders  was  one  ma 
who  afforded  much  a<5>u8ement<  by  lying  at  a  short  dii 
tance,  and  holding  up  a  raw  and  bloody  piece  of  bluii 
her,  for  which  he  demanded  a  nail  in  exchange  :  shoR 
ing  at  the  same  time  his  high  sense  of  the  value  of  th 
equivalent  by  uttering  loud  cries,  and  licking  the 
viting  morsel  with  ja  many  smacks  of  the  lips,  and  eJ 
pressions  of  satisfaction,  as  a  young  child  would  discovcj 
while  attacking  a  rich  sweetmeat. 

There  was  another  man,  who  possessed  a  far  moil 
enticing  piece  of  goods,  a  fine  unicorn's  horn  ;  but  wha 
he  had  received  a  piece  of  iron  in  exchange  for  it,  hj 

nwith  a  shout  of  triumph,  shoved  off,  without  giving  i 
the  horn.  He  appeared  perfectly  insensible  to  all  oj 
stratagems  to  allure  him  alongside,  and  in  vain  wej 
glittering  knives  and  other  treasures  displayed  for  tU 
purpose.     During  this  time  the  other  poor  wretch 

^vwere  eagerly  selling  til  their  possessions,  and  strippij 
themselves  of  every  article  of  dress  which  could  finij 
purchaser. 


OV  CAPS  D0B8ET. 


We  at  length  made  sail,  when  our  friend  of  the  horn 
in  up  alongside,  and  sold  it  for  a  knife  to  the  man  he 
lad  first  cheated  ;  but  in  this  last  instance  he  again  at- 
tmpted  to  escape  with  his  prize.  The  horn  was  six 
tet  in  length,  and  weighed  nibs. 
I  In  this  day's  party  I  saw  but  one  beggar.  On  the 
[hole  these  people  neither  appeared  so  noisy,  impu- 
>nt,  or  fearless,  as  our  first  visitants,  and  they  were 
•rtainly  much  poorer,  at  least  if  we  might  judge  by 
\(i  stale  of  their  clothing. 

We  lieat  up  along  shore  between  Cape  Dorset  and 
ilisbury,  and  Nottingham  Islands,  during  the  morning 
'  the  1st  of  August,  which  was  mild  and  fine  ;  and  in 
\e  course  of  the  day  received  another  visit  from  the 
skimaux,  who  came  off  in  four  men's  boats  and  one 
>miack.  They  had  little  to  sell,  but  we  derived  much 
nisement  from  the  more  than  usual!*'  grotesque  crew 
the  latter,  which,  in  this  instance,  was  commanded 
chief  by  an  old  and  fat  woman,  although  two  stout 
t>ys  were  with  her.  This  female  coxswain  carried  a 
lall  child  at  her  back,  in  whose  features  we  fancied 
'possible  to  trace  some  resemblance  to  European  in- 
Us,  although  its  colour,  natural  or  artificial,  was  ma- 
shades  darker.  There  were  several  other  young 
kildren  in  this  boat,  very  pretty  little  savages,  with 
le  dark  eyes,  and  white  teeth ;  but  although  their 
[untenances  were  lively  and  intelligent,  there  was  a 
id  of  wildness  in  their  looks,-~not  a  little  heightened 
the  profusion  of '^  elf  locks''  which  hung  over  their 
jcks  and  faces.  One  poor  infant,  notwithstanding  the 
jmuljl  caused  by  the  elder  people,  lay  quietly  asleep 
the  bottom  of  the  boat,  wrapped  in  a  skin,  and 
^ving  both  legs  jammed  into  a  boot.  Its  mouth  was 
fed  with  a  large  piece  of  blubber,  which  kept  the 
fs  distended,  and  probably  caused  the  child  to  fancy 
[elf  still  at  the  breast,  for  it  moved  its  lips  as  infants 
when  they  dream.  1  had  forgotten  this  quiet  little 
^rsonage  for  some  time,  but  on  looking  again,  found 
(still  in  a  sound  sleep,  in  defiance  of  the  numberless 
imps  and  kicks  it  received  from  the  n^omen  us  they 


:;!' 


iTT*" 


I  !<% 


28 


VISIT  FROM  THE   NATIVES 


:i  I'll 


1  I 


III 


!■ 


i!l!iii': 


danced  and  scrambled  about  the  boat.     It  lay  so  torpid-j 
\y  tbiit  one  of  our  people  thought  it  watt  dead,  wbid 
induced  him  to  go  into  the  boat  and  set  the  little  sleof 
er  upright.     The  child  no  sooner  opened  its  eyes,  thao 
creeping  into  a  corner  of  the  boat  ^r  security,  it  occaJ 
sionally  peeped  out  with  the  same  stupid  gravity  as  J 
young  owl  when  exposed  to  a  strong  glare   ofiightl 
On  observing  the  cork   whlcb   had  tilled   the  baber 
mouth,  I  found  it  was  not  that  of  a  seal,  and  soon  dis 
covered  a  large  piece  of  fresh   whale's  blubber,  witlj 
the  skin  on,  lying  in  the  stern  of  the  boat. 

One  of  the  officers  purchased  a  hatchet  of  Englislj 
manufacture,  bearing  the  initials  H*^.  V  and  Co.  It  wnj 
mounted  like  an  adze,  on  a  short  handle,  to  which  i| 
was  very  lirmly  attached  by  strong  thongs  of  hide 
The  haft  was  scooped  out  in  such  a  way  as  to  allow  th^ 
liand   to  tit  it,  and  each  finger  had  its  particular  place! 

Some  of  the  girls  gave  every  thing  they  receive] 
in  exchange  to  the  old  woman  commanding  the  boaf 
who  instantly  put  them  into  her  mouth  (which  is  thJ 
principal  pocket  of  these  people,)  whatever  their  m 
ture  might  be.  lier  riches  at  length  almost  choke 
her;  needles,  pins,  nails,  buttons,  beads,  and  other i 
ceteras,  being  most  happily  jumbled  together ;  yet, 
my  surprise,  she  did  not  become  less  noisy  or  volubM 
in  her  speech,  although  1  saw  that  she  could  not  ope 
her  mouth  without  dropping  some  part  of  her  treasurej 
which  a  little  girl  was  employed  in  picking  up  agaii 
In  the  afternoon  the  number  of  our  visitors  increase( 
and  one  man  in  particular  gained  our  friendship  by  b| 
merriment,  and  the  strict  honesty  of  his  dealings, 
boat  lay  alongside  that  of  the  women,  and  as  we  hil 
good  way  through  the  water,  it  required  all  his  attej 
tion  to  keep  her  steady :  unfortunately,  he  was  fori 
moment  off  his  guard,  and  his  frail  canoe  upset,  leaviij 
him  beneath  it.  We  were  extremely  anxious  abol 
this  poor  fellow  ;  as  he  had  not  his  paddle  in  readine 
we  knew  that  he  could  not  right  his  boat  again,  as] 
the  custom,  and  were  fully  aware  of  the  difficulty 
must  have  in  extricating  himself  from  a  vessel  so  ca 
trived,  that  the  sitter  is  encased  nearly  to  the  am 


OV  OAPB  DOmSXT. 


flO 


boat  was  io  conieqaence  instantly  lowered  and  sent 
his  assistance ;  but  we  soon  had  the  satisfaction  of 
ieing  him  rise,  and  haul  himself  gradually  on  to  the 
>ttom  of  thb  canoe,  lyinff  on  his  belly,  and  balanc- 
ig  with  his  hands  and  Tegs  lest  this  slight  support 
lould  once  more  fail  him.  He  appeared  totally  un- 
}ncerned,  and  never  once  looked  to  see  if  assistance 
fas  coming,  although  he  was  a  long  way  astern.  On 
iing  taken  into  our  boat,  he  neither  expressed  plea- 
ire  or  surprise  at  his  deliverance,  but  grasping  his 
iddle,  which  had  been  picked  up  near  the  canoe, 
iry  quietly  sat  in  the  bow  and  assisted  in  rowing  on 
>ard ;  his  own  boat  in  the  mean  time  tniving  Cistern 
kll  of  water. 

I  His  countrymen  and  women,  when  they  saw  him  up- 
it,  took  not  the  slightest  notice  of  his  disaster,  but 
)ntinuing  their  dancing  and  barter,  did  not  turn  their 
iads  a  second  time  to  see  if  he  was  alive,  or  if  any 
>r^on  was  gone  to  his  relief.     This  brutal  insensibili- 
[,  although  differing  from  their  behaviour  when  the 
len's  boat  was  stove  some  days  before,  yet  exactly 
l^rees  with  what  Crantz  relates  of  the  insensibility  of 
ke  Greenlanders  on  similar  occasions. 
I  When  our  unfortunate  cast-awa^  came  alongside,  he 
Icceeded  in  borrowing  a  jacket  from  some  of  his  par- 
|,  and,  as  he  had  lost  his  iron,  I  gave  him  a  whole 
)op,  and  some  wood  to  repair  his  broken  paddle, 
)ich  made  him  tbe  richest  of  all  our  visitors.     The 
istress  of  the  oomiak  lent  him  a  small  whalebone 
|oop  to  bale  his  boat  out,  and  I  observed  that  he  seem- 
to  have  some  authority  over  her,  for  he  afterwards 
sisted  her  in  the  traffic,  and  appropriated  to  himself 
latever  was  given  in  exchange  :  from  these  circum- 
mces  we  concluded  they  were  man  and  wife,  yet  his 
ider  partner  did  not  cast  one  glance  behind  when  she 
IS  in  such  danger  of  being  widowed. 
[All  the  Eskimaux  we  had  seen  were  fat  and  in  good 
se ;  and  the  men  of  this  day  were  remarkable  for 
Lving  more  beard  than  the  Savage  island  people.    As 
were  now  going  out  of  the  known  parts  of  Hudson's 
3* 


;ill 





/i  if   iil    ili 


^  r'lii 


Ml  'IK  I 


i 


!  ir 


I  i: 


■■■X 


PASS  THE   MUX  ISLANDS. 


Bay,  and  as  v/e  might  not  again  meet  with  a  woman^^ 
boat,  I  shall  here  describe  it  as  well  as  I  am  able. 

The  oomlak  (umiak,  Greenland,)  or  luggage  boat,  iJ 
chiefly  used,  according  to  Crantz,  for  the  purpose  o| 
removing  the  effects  of  families  in  their  excursioD 
during  the  summer  season.  The  frame  work  is  of 
wood  and  whalebone,  the  bottom  flat,  and  both  heal 
and  stern  nearly  square.  The  skins  which  cover  tha 
frame  are  of  the  seal,  and  deprived  of  hair ;  they  arq 
at  all  times  somewhat  transparent,  but  more  particu 
larly  so  when  wetted.  Seats,  to  the  amount  of  live  oj 
six,  are  placed  in  the  boat,  as  with  Europeans.  Two 
very  clumsy  oars,  with  flat  blades,  are  pulled  by  thi 
women,  and  one  is  used  by  the  person  who  steer$| 
The  sides  of  the  boat  are  flat,  and  about  three  feel 
high  ;  they  vary  much  in  size.  Of  those  which  cami 
off  the  first  time,  there  was  one  which  measured  twentjj 
five  feet  by  eight,  and  contained  women,  boys,  anf 
small  children,  to  the  amount  of  twenty-one  persons. 

On  the  morning  of  the  2d  we  had  run  out  of  sigb 
of  the  land."  The  refraction  of  the  horizon  was  oh 
served  to  be  more  than  usually  great.  During  tiij 
forenoon  we  'came  to  much  ice,  whose  motion  wa 
extremely  impetuous :  each  piece,  whatever  might 
its  magnitude,  and  some  were  very  large  and  heavjj 
appeared  to  have  an  independent  impetus,  and  tb 
noise  with  which  they  rushed  together,  resembled  tbj 
sound  of  a  torrent  of  water.  We  were  at  this  tir 
near  the  spot  which,  in  the  charts,  is  assigned  to  th 
Mill  Islands,  but  did  not  see  them  :  this  name  was  giv« 
them  by  Baflin  in  1616,  "  by  reason  of  grinding  th 
ice,^^  a  circumstance  which  has  been  noticed  by  othel 
navigators.  We  found  the  tides  to  be  impetuous  anj 
irregular ;  and  when  the  ice  slackened  a  little,  so 
to  allow  of  our  making  some  progress,  we  observ^ 
that,  although  the  ship  was  going  three  knots  throug 
the  water,  several  large  pieces  of  ice,  which  drej 
more  than  the  ships,  were  heading  us  as  if  we  ha[ 
been  at  anchor.  From  all  that  1  could  observe  durin 
the  time  we  were  on  this  immediate  spot,  1  am  inclind 


!  « 


*■;  ■ 


lar  THE  iRozEir  stbait« 


ii 


believe  that  on  this  site  is  the'  conflux  of  two  oppos- 
ig  tides,  which  occasion  the  extraordinary  eddies 
ongst  the  ice.  From  this  day  until  the  9th  we  lay 
set,  nothing  occurring  of  interest,  except  that  on  the 
h  we  first  saw  Southampton  Island  to  the  westward, 
d  very  distant. 

On  the  morning  of  the  9th  we  made  a  little  progress 

the  westward,  passing  the  largest  and  heaviest  floe 

e  had  yet  seen,  it  being  about  four  miles  by  two  in 

tent.     A  narwhal,  or  sea-unicorn,  made  its  appear- 

ce  several  times  near  the  ship,  but  not  close  enough 

r  us  to  distinguish  its  horn.     In  the  afternoon,  by 

orking  to  the  N.  W.   we  got  to  the  northward  of 

uthampton  Island,  and  into  the   entrance   of  what 

peared  a  deep  broad  strait,  bounded  to  the  northward 

what  we  supposed  to  be  islands.  ^|. . 

We  made  pretty  good  progress  until  noon  of  the 

th,  when  we  were  rapidly  beset,  and  continued  so 

most  constantly  until  midnight  of  the  Uth,  by  which 

e  we  had  arrived  close  under  the  northern  islands. 

re  we  were  again  beset,  until  the  afternoon  of  the 

th,  driving  rapidly  to  the  southward  ;  the  moving  ice 

iking  us  very  heavily  at  times.     A  black  whale  and 

veral  unicorns  were  frequently  seen.     On  the  large 

e,  to  which'  we  were  fast,  were  vast  quantities  of 

nes,  mud,  sand,  and  weed ;  the  first  of  these  were 

rious  kinds  of  granite,  gneiss,  horneblende,  quartz, 

ck  and  white  mica,  limestone,  madrepore,  and  clay 

le.     Some  of  the  pieces  of  granite  contained  abun- 

mce  of  small  but  very  brilliant  garnets.     It  is  a  cause 

surprise  how  such  quantities'  of  stones  and  shells  as 

had  lately  seen  could  be  thrown  on  pieces  of  ice  of 
m  one  to  several  miles  in  circuQiferonce  ;  and  above 
,  that  these  extraneous  substances  should  be  as  plen- 
ul  in  the  centre  as  near  the  edge  of  the  floes.     Of 

se  objects  I  made  a  small  and  very  pretty  collection, 
d  in  subsequent  visits  to  the  shore,  there  were  seve- 

of  the  kinds  which  I  was  unable  to  find.  I  learnt 
m  Captain  Parry  that  he  had  landed  on  the  night  of 

nth  on  a  small  low  island,  for  the  purpose  of  ascer- 


,|ni|r-- 


Si 


Ur  THE  FROZEN  STSAIT* 


dill 


N 


■ir  ,;': 


i:  i 


taining  the  set  and  time  of  the  tide :  he  there  found 
the  remains  of  an  Eskimaux  hut;  and  brought  o^ 
some  mosses,  grasses,  and  specimens  of  g^ranite. 

In  the  afternoon  the  ice  drove  past  us  with  a  freslj 
breeze,  and  left  the  ships  and  their  protecting  floe  ioj 
open  water.  No  ice  was  in  sight  to  the  westward 
and  for  the  first  time  since  entering  the  straits  from  th^ 
Atlantic  a  long  troubled  sea  arose.  I  mention  thii 
circumstance,  in  order  to  favour  a  remark  on  the  extra] 
ordinary  and  unforeseen  changes  to  which  this  navigaJ 
tion  is  subject,  for  by  6  p.  m.  we  were  suddenly  besel 
by  a  vast  body  of  ice  from  the  northward,  and  in  threa 
hours  not  a  single  hole  of  water  could  be  seen  froo 
the  mast-head  in  any  direction.  After  this  period  thd 
ice  again  opened,  and  we  had  abundant  sailing  room,  o| 
which  we  took  advantage. 

On  the  13th  the  weather  was  calm  and  fine,  and 
the  unicorns  were  numerous  around  us,  bo^ts  weid 
sent,  but  without  success,  to  strike  one.  There  werj 
sometimes  as  many  as  twenty  of  these  beautiful  fish 
a  shoal,  lifting  at  times  their  immense  horn  above  thJ 
water,  and  at  others  showing  their  glossy  backs,  whici 
were  spotted  in  the  manner  of  coach-dogs  in  Englaniif 
The  length  of  these  fish  is  about  fifteen  feet,  exclusivj 
of  the  horn,  which  averages  five  or  six  more. 

As  was  expected,  we  were  close  beset  in  the  afteij 
noon.  The  ships  were  now  in  a  vast  basin,  haviti 
four  apparent  outlets,  of  which  an  opening  to  thj 
N.  W.  particularly  attracted  our  attention,  and  waf 
now  about  ten  miles  distant.  In  the  evening  a  larg 
bear  was  seen  lying  on  the  ice,  a-head  of  the  Ftirjj 
and  as  the  ships  drove  slowly  towards  him,  he  rose  i 
approach  them.  A  larjte  party  of  the  Fury's  p«-opl| 
went  to  attack  him ;  but  were  scarcely  within  sho| 
when  he  turned  and  made  for  the  shore  with  a  spee 
I  could  not  have  believed  so  unwieldly  a  beast  capabi^ 
of  exerting.  His  pace  was  a  kind  of  shuffle,  but 
certainly  think  as  quick  as  a  sharp  gallop  of  a  horsel 
Three  other  bears  were  seen  during  the  first  watclj 
but  at  a  great  distance,  and  not  coming  towards  us. 


Inng 


Iplore 
[tions  b( 
Ine  its 
fngle  be 
He  dist 
fid,  as  fi 
)in,  abc 


1-5*)  • 


IX   THE   FROZEN   STRAIT. 


!  We  continued  beset,  though  not  quiet  (for  at  each 

lange  of  title  we  worked  anxiously  to  get  into  some 

»en  water  near  us,)  until  the  forenoon  of  the  16th, 

ten  we  got  clear  of  the  pack  after  four  hours  hard 

)our.     The  Fury  was  by  this  time  in  the  centre  of 

strait ;   and  in  the  afternoon   we   picked  up  her 

)all  boat,  which  Captain  Parry  had  obligingly  sent 

inform  me  of  some  dangers  he  had  discovered  in 

le  channel,  which  he  had  sounded  at  various  times 

Ving  the    preceding   night.      In  this   note   he    also 

[brmed  me  that  he  had  slept  on  Southampton  Island, 

lere  he  saw   remains  of  Eskimaux  huts,  and  even 

icied  he  heard  the  cries  of  those  people  on  the  hills. 

pools  on  the  beach,  himself  and  hoat^s  crew  caught 

jfhcient  siilocks,  or  young  coal-tish,  to  serve  for  two 

>als  for  his  ship's  company,  and  a  dish  of  them  which 

sent   me    was   very   fine.     Durmg  the    night  the 

lite  whales  lay   literally  in  hundreds  close  to  the 

:ks,  probably  feeding  on  the  siilocks. 

[In  consequence  of  the  great  force  of  the  N.  W.  tide 

tting  out  of  the  opening,  we  were  tive  hours  in  get- 

\g  through  the  Narrows,  a  distance  of  about  three 

iles.     The  night  set  in  as  we  accomplished  this ;  and 

|ming  into  soundings  at  midnight,  we  found  the  Fury, 

anchored  near  her.     During  the  afternoon,  large 
Icks  of  snow  buntins  flew  past  us,  and  numerous  uni- . 
jms  were  seen,  until  we  came  to  the  Narrows,  when 
iy  were   as   abundantly   supplanted  by  the   white 
inles. 

IWhen  morning  broke  on  the  17th,  we  found  that  the 
fps  were  anchored  off  a  low  beach  at  the  head  of  an 
jimense  and  beautiful  bay.     A  thick  haze  hung  over 

low   land,   but   boats  from  each   ship   landed  to 

Iplore  this  interesting  place.     The  requisite  obser- 

Itions  being  made,  parties  were  sent  inland  to  exa- 

Ine  its  productions,  and  to  search  for  game.     The 

|ngle  beach  was  so  shoal,  that  the  boats  grounded  at 

ce  distance  from  it,  and  the  whole  of  the  western 

)d,  as  far  as  we  could  see,  was  one  uniDterlrupted 

lin,  abounding  in  lakes  and  marshes  occa&ioDed  by 


I 


1'" 


•-I 


V. 


m  DVKE  OT  TOSK'S  BAT. 

.  the  recent  melting  of  the  snows.  The  vegetation  wa 
rich  in  the  usual  Arctic  plants,  grasses,  mosses,  poppies] 
and  the  ground  willow.  Several  rein-deer  were  seea 
ft  short  distance  inland,  and  a  fox  was  killed  by  one  o| 
the  Fury's  dogs.  The  rib  of  a  whale  was  found  aboul 
three  miles  inland,  and  in  a  contrary  direction,  bu 
equi-distant  from  the  sea;  the  crown  bone  of  one  oj 
these  creatures  was  also  observed. 

Near  the  beach  were  seen  the  remains  of  several 
Eskimaux  huts  ;  and  one  of  the  officers,  who  walkej 
to  the  westward)  found  several  perfect  ones  of  a  con| 
cal  form,  resembling  lime-kilns,  but  having  only 
entrance  at  the  top.  They  were  all  of  stone, 
looking  into  one  he  saw  a  human  skull,  which  was  spl| 
longitudinally,  but  no  other  bones  were  near  it. 

Moskitoes  were  very  numerous,  and  we  were  frel 
quently  reminded  of  their  presence  by  extremely  shan 
stings.  I  also  saw  a  few  flies,  of  which  some  that] 
caught  appeared  to  my  uninformed  eye  like  the  co[ 
mon  house-fiy  in  England.  The  poor  things  were 
benumbed  by  the  cold  as  to  be  unable  to  fly,  and  theil 
only  motion  was  by  short  hops,  like  insects  which  haTf 
burnt  their  wings  in  a  candle.  The  ground  was 
many  places  much  burrowed  by  some  small  anima 
and  one  mouse  (vans  Hudsonius,)  was  caught,  whicj 
resembled  those  found  at  Melville  Island. 

During  my  walk  t  saw  no  rocks,  the  ground  bein 
almost  entirely  swampy.  A  block  of  gneiss  or  granid 
occasionally  occurred,  but  merely  lying  on  the  surfad 
The  beach  afforded  us  a  few  common  shells,  and  son 
in  a  fossil  state.  The  boats  were  left  above  a  qua 
ter  of  a  mile  on  the  flat  beach  by  the  ebb  tide,  andi 
launching  them  we  found  several  beautiful  varieties  i 
madrepore.  Our  birds  which  had  been  shot  were  mi 
ny  of  them  new  to  us,  and  were  as  follows : 


III' 


Large  black-throated  diver, 
Red-tbroat«d  diver, 
Pintailed  ducli  (females), 
Bldck-throated  i^elden  plover^ 
SwiBf  lapwing, 


Colymbus  Arcticus. 
Colyrabus  septentrionalis  | 
Anas  glacialis. 
CharadriuB  Africanus. 
Tringa  Helvoetica. 


Mi. 


DUKE  07  TOBK'S  BAT. 


S5 


itej  phalarope, 
Jlaucus  gull, 
boatswain  gull, 


Tringa  lobata. 
LaruB  glaucus. 
Larus  parasiticus. 


':<+ 


^d  some  small  sandpipers.    Amongpst  the  birds  seen, 

not  procured,  were  the  eider  dnck,  tern  or  Green- 

\d  swallow,  plovers,  and  the  snowy  owl. 

(We   weighed   before   noon,  and   having  ran  about 

bee  miles  to  the  northward,  found  the  water  shoal 

[rapidly  that  we  again  came  to  an  anchor.     As  there 

ks  the  appearance  of  a  small  outlet  in  this  direction, 

[plain  Parry  went  with  two  boats  to  examine  it.     In 

evening  he  returned,  having  found  the  passage  im- 

ssable  even  for  boats.     The  width  was  from  one  to 

ro  miles,  but  the   whole  channel  at  low  water  was 

)ked  up  by  shoals,  between  which  the  ebb  tide  came 

\m  the  northward  at  the  rate  of  five  or  six  knots! 

one  of  these  places  was  a  singular  building,  con- 

icted  of  the  two  Jaw-bones  of  a  whale  set  upright, 

covered  over  at  the  top  with  whalebone.     Lacb 

It  took  a  share  of  this  last  to  make  brooms,  and  a 

irding-pike  was  left  in  payment.     In  the   grey    of 

evening  several  deer  came  to  feed  close  to  the 

beach,  and  frequent  flights  of  ducks  and  tern  pass- 

us. 

$ince  our  first  arrival,  numerous  whales  were  con- 
)tly  seen,  and  at  one  time  two  parties  of  seven  each 
for  some  minutes  within  fifty  yards  of  us.  Our 
ienland  masters  expressed  much  astonishment  at 
ling  these  fish  in  such  shallow  water,  and  were 
^re  so  at  not  seeing  any  of  their  skeletons,  as  the 
tness  of  the  beach  warranted  the  supposition  that 
tide  must  occasionally  leave  one  of  these  monsters 
round. 

)n  the  1 8th,  we  ran  to  the  south  end  of  the  bay 
ring  a  fog,  trusting  entirely  to  our  leads.  An> 
)ring,  two  boats  were  sent  to  trace  the  contmuity  of 
low  land  at  the  bottom  of  the  bight,  which  was 
)ut  ten  miles  distant.  In  the  mean  time  i  landed  on 
iiigh  eastern  land  with  Captain  Parry,  in  order  to 


56 


IN   THE  DVKE   OV  TOBK's   BAT. 


!,!ll 


I 


n 


m 


hare  a  full  view  of  the  surrounding  country, 
landing,  we  were  led  by  a  gradual  ascent  of  aboj 
half  a  mile  to  the  foot  of  the  mountains.  This  sloJ 
was  composed  of  thin  sounding  plates  of  magnesiaj 
limestone ;  and  the  few  stunted  willows,  rising  threi 
or  four  inches  from  the  ground,  reminded  roe  forcibi 
of  the  southern  ascent  to  the  ^^  Soudah  mountains^^  1 
Fezzan.  The  resemblance  was  not  a  little  strengtl 
ened  by  the  total  absence  of  all  liviUf^  creatures.  Tl{ 
mountains,  which  were  of  granite,  were  traversed 
very  broad  veins  of  red  feldspar.  We  procured  son 
fine  specimens  of  white  quartz,  mica,  and  large  h\ 
imperfect  garnets  in  decomposing  gneiss.  I  was 
fortunate  as  to  pi<>k  up  a  fine  fossil  imbedded  in  lioiJ 
stone,  and  resembling  in  some  respects  the  root  ofl 
stages  horn.  Above  the  granite,  on  the  mountain's  tof 
was  an  extensive  plain,  entirely  of  the  same  fragmeo] 
of  limestone  as  we  had  seen  on  the  beach. 

The  summit  of  the  mountains  afforded  us  an  exce 
lent  view  across  the  western  or  low  side  of  the  ba| 
but  in  no  direction  could  we  discover  a  distant  se 
The  form  of  the  basin   was  so  clearly  defined  as 
leave  no  doubt  that  we  must  go  out  by  the  same  cha 
nel    as   we   had   entered.     On  descending  we  sawl 
solitary    gray   phalarope,    ranging    undisturbed  in 
broad  water-course,  near  v/hich  some  snow   was  lyiJ 
in  the  ra?ines,  which  doubtless  supplied  several  smi 
streamlets  we    had    found   trickling   down    the  roclj 
Desolate  as  this  shore  was,  yet  we   found  traces 
Eskimaux,  as  we  had  invariably  done  wherever  a  Ian 
ing  was  made.     On  a  small  eminence  was  a  pile 
stones,  and  near  it  were  others,  in  a  circle.     Our  ii 
to  the  high  land,  and  the  observations  made  by 
ships  and  boats,  now  convinced  us  that  we   had  dis 
vered  one   of  the  most  magnificent  and  commodio 
harbours  perhaps  in  the  world,  in  which  the  whoj 
British    navy    might  find   anchorage.     The   soundly 
were  good,  the  bottom  of  strong  clay,  and   the 
trance  so  formed  as  to  be  capable  of  being  most  co|| 
pletely  fortified.    From  some  officers  who  had 


IN  THE   BUKE   OF  TORK's   BAT. 


"W. 


ided  on  the  east  side  of  the  ^^y,  I  learnt  that  they 
^d  found  the  crown  bones  of  two  whales :  one  very 
rh  on  the  beach,  above  any  tide  marks,  and  the 
ler  some  hundred  yards  up  the  side  of  a  sloping 
|1.  The  boats  having  returned  at  midnight  from 
inding  the  south  bay,  we  weighed  at  daylight  of 
19th;  but  having  run  a  few  miles  towards  the 
[ait,  the  wind  failed  us,  and  we  anchored  near  a 
Ull  shoal  which  we  had  found  in  the  centre  of  the 
I  landed  on  this  with  Captain  Parry.  From  its 
ipe,  and  the  peculiar  soundings  round  it,  I  conceive 

lUst  have  been  formed  by  the  tides  sweeping  round 
bay.  We  erected  a  pile  of  stones  on  the  spot,  but 
ey  were  covered  by  the  tide  before  the  ships  had 
iared  the  strait,  which,  on  weighing,  we  accom- 
[shed  by  the  evening.  The  sea  was  clear  of  ice, 
the  night  fine  ;  when,  at  10  p.  m.  one  of  the  most 
Iden  and  violent  'squalls  I  almost  ever  saw  came 

ieping  fv'om  the  northward,  and  barely  allowed  us 

reduce  ihe  ship  to  maintopsail  and  foresail.  A  sea 
)n  rising  gave  us  much  trouble,  as  a  heavy  stream 
[ice  lay  in  our  way,  an-]  we  did  not  pass  it  without 

le  severe  shocks 

^he  morning  of  the  20th  showed  us  most  clearly 
^t  we  were  in  the  Frozen  Strait  of  Middleton      An 

[ious  day  was  closed  by  passing  -an  opening  to  the 

^thward,   which    was  Sir  Thomas  Roe's  Welcome, 

running  for  some  high  land  to  the  N.W.  which 

>eared  to  form  a  bay.     We  then  hove  to  for  the 
tnt.  * 

i'or  some  time  past  our  compasses  had  been  nearly 

^less,  and  each  advance   which   we   made   to   the 

rthward,  rendered  them   still  worse.     Thick  wea- 
|r  had  precluded  our  making  any  celestial  observa- 

is  during  the   last  forty-eight  hours;  so  that  we 
|re  very  anxious  for  the  morning,  to  allow  us  to 

;e  if  we  had  arrived  at  the  first  stage  of  our  jour- 
Morning  came,  but  cloudy :  we,  however,  dis- 

fuished  land  all    round  us,  although  imperfectly 

rked.     Snow  and  thick  weather  soon  Came  Oh, 
4 


3$ 


EUTEB  BXPULIE  BAT. 


Ill 


(!  U 


r 

i  I 


i'  in 


11 


j'l 


during  which  we  continoed  beating  up  to  the  nortl 
ward  and  westward.     At  eight  p.m.  the  sky  cleared  uy 
and  we  found  ourselves  in  an   immense  and  clearlil 
defined  bay,  the  extreme  points  of  which,  as  far 
we  could  then  judge,  were  from  N.E.  by  E.  to  S.W] 
by  S.    We  lay  to  for  the  night,  and  by.  the  moonligl 
saw  that  the  bottom  of  the  bay  was  clear  of  ice.     Thd 
weather  moderated,  the  barometer  rose,  and  the  win! 
came  fair  in  readiness  for  the  morrow.     The  mooi 
this  night  exhibited  a  very  singular  appearance  ;  for  i 
ray,  or  stream  of  light,  shot  up  or  down  alternatelil 
from  the  upper  ilid  lower  edge,   and  resembled 
either  case  the  tail  of  a  comet.     This  phenomenoi^ 
invariably  acquired  additional  brilliancy  from  the  in 
tervention  of  n  passing  cloud,  which  caused  no  chang<| 
in  the  form  of  the  ray. 

On  the  morning  of  the  22d  of  August  we  ran  intij 
Repulse  Bay ;  and,  leaving  the  ships  under  sail,  Caf 
tain  Parry  and  myself,  with  several  officers  of  eaclj 
ship,  went  on  shore  on  the  northern  side.    Mr.  Pali 
er,  in  the  mean  time,  was  despatched  with  a  boat  t«1 
examine  the  bottom  of  the  bay. 

Near  the  point  on  which  we  landed,  were  founi 
the  remains  of  an    immense    Eskimaux  settlement! 
Above  sixty  circles  of  stones  (which  are  used  to  con 
fine  down  the  lower  edges  of  the  skin-tents)  wei 
counted,  several  small  fire-places  covered  with  soot] 
about  a  dozen  perfect  store-houses  for  flesh,  and  evei 
thing  which  would  make  the  place  appear  to  havij 
been  inhabited  of  late  years.    Numerous  high  piles 
stones  were  fantastically  reared  amongst  the  dwel 
ing-places,  and  many  were  so  formed  as  at  a  shoil 
distance  to  bear  an  exact  resemblimce  to  the  huma 
figure.    Some  parties  went  inland  to  shoot;  but,  as J 
wished  to  obtain  observations,  1  was  by   that  mea 
prevented  enjoying  my  first  American  walk  to  any  ex 
tent.    I  had,  however,  time  to  stroll  to  a  neighboui^ 
ing  hill,  where  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  finding,  witi 
the  assistance  of  one  of  our  meb,  the  crownpbone,  and 
Qltimately,  tbci  whole  9k«l«ton  4>f  a  whale.     It  hi 


love  an  e 


1 


BBPUL8B  BAT. 


39 


icross  the  uppei  end  of  a  small  green  ravine,  and  was 
kt  least  100  fe<>t  above  the  level  of  the  sea !  With 
Ihe  exception  of  the  head  verjr  part  was  covered  with 
iresb  moss  and  dark  earth,  through  which  a  small 
jtream  of  water  wns  oozing. 

It  is  welt  knov"n  that  the  Cskimaux  carry  large  por- 
jloDS  of  whales^  bones  to  their  huts,  for  the  purpose 
)f  collecting  the  oil  which  exudes  from  them ;  and 
|hey  afterwards  make  use  of  the  dry  bone  in  construct- 
bg  sledges,  &c.  Yet,  allowing  this  to  be  the  case,  I 
pan  in  no  manner  conceive  it  possible  for  them  to  re- 
love  an  entire  skeleton  even  one  foot,  much  less  up 
Ihe  steep  side  of  a  hill.  The  remains  of  which  1 
ppeak  were  so  situated  that  no  dwellings  could  be  plac- 
id any  where  near  them,  and  the  fact  of  their  lying 

a  water-course  does  away  with  the  idea  of  their 
laving  been  brought  to  the  spot  for  the  sake  of  the 

Ml. 

Having  entered  on  this  subject,  it  may  not  be  irre- 
^vant  to  mention  again  the  facts  of  havin;^  found  three 
crown-bones  at  a  distance  from  the  sea  in  the  Duke  of 
fork^s  Bay  ;  and  to  these  1  may  add  that  which  Captain 
Jddon  found  during  the  last  voyage,  a  mile  and  up- 
wards inland,  on  Melville  Island,  and  having  others  of 
^he  whalers  bones  near  it.  This,  as  did  two  of  the 
above  mentioned,  whs  lying  on  a  flat  secondary  forma- 
tion ;  but  the  skeleton  1  had  found  was  on  agraniVe  rock, 
covered,  as  1  have  ouBei-ved,  with  moss  and  swampy 
sarth. 

Continuing  my  ramble,  I  found  some  other  Eski- 
laux  circles  and  piles,  in  which  were  bones  only  re> 
cently  picked,  torn  skins  of  birds,  broken  utensils,  and 
)ld  shoes,  mittens,  Uc.  In  a  ruined  grave  I  found  a 
inman  skull,  which  appeared  perfect,  but  it  broke  on. 
ay  lifting  it  up.  A  long  cove  (of  which  there  were 
lany  on  the  shore)  ran  up  near  the  huts,  and  its  wa- 
ters were  absolutely  hidden  by  the  quantities  of  young 
eider  ducks',  which,  under  the  direction  of  their 
lothers,  were  making  their  first  essays  in  swimming. 
[Near  them  I  started  a  white  owl,  and  pursued  Chi* 


,*v  ISt-  ..i 


40 


BBPVLIB  BAT* 


I 't 


magnificent  bird  for  some   time,  but  in  vain.    0« 
sportsmen,  who  returned  at  noon,  brought  with  thei 
a  white  hare,  and  an  ermine  in  its  summer  coat.  Thej 
had  seen  several  rein  deer  in  the  distance.    One  d 
the  Fury's  men  had  found  a  grave  formed  of  rougi 
stones,  so  as  to  shelter  the  body  in  a   kind  of  vauli 
Near  the  skeleton  were  laid  implements  of  the  chasej 
such  as  ivory  spear-heads,  stone  arrow-heads,  knivej 
of  wood,  ivory,  and  slate,  and  one   having  a  very  de 
cayed  blade  of  iron.     Broken  arrows,  and  a  variety 
little    models  of  canoes  and  paddles,  apparently  th^ 
toys  of  children,  completed  this  as!)ortment  of  article! 
which  had   once   been   of  use;  and    there   were  alsi| 
several  long  and  slender  pieces  of  asbestos,   whicli 
but  for  the  weight,   might   have   been  taken  fr^r  chip 
of  decayed  fir.     1  afterwards  learned  that  three  othej 
graves  had   been   found,  and   believe    they  contamel 
some  of  thf!  same  articles  as  the  first.  I 

At  noon  we  obtained  a  meridinn  altitude,  which  g»\i 
the  latitude    66°  30'  51'   N.;  and   by  good  sights  thj 
longitude  was  found  to  be    86°  28  4'   W.     Before  rel 
turning  on  board  I  caught  two  little   tailless  mice  ;  bdI 
having  put  them  in  a  box,  they  devoured  with  aviditn 
bread,  cheese,  meat,  and  grass :  never  did  1  see  \m 
such    voracious   animals.      Their   appetite,   howeveif 
was  their  ruin ;  ?is,  in  a  few   hours,  I  found  one  haj 
half  devoured  the   other,  and   was  itself  at  the  laij 
gasp.     Mr.  Palmer  came  on   board   at  6  f.  m.  and  re 
ported  havmg  found  another  bay  at  the  bottom  of  tbj 
large   one.      This   place   had   been   hidden  from  ouj 
view  by  islands,  and   was  five  or  six  miles  in  extent 
At  its  entrance,   huts  were   found,  which   appeared  ij 
have   been    very   recently  inhabited ;    for  near  theif 
,were  lying  pieces  of  the  skins  of  musk-oxen,  deeil 
bears,  seals,  ^'C.     Numerous  black  whales  were  seel 
by  Mr.  Palmer  when  examining  the  coast  of  this  littM 
bight ;  and  having  ascertained  beyond  a  doubt  that  n 
passage  existed  through  to  the  .westwak'd,  he  returne 
on  Doard.     Thus  our  examinations  of  tLs  much  doub 
ed  place  were  terminated ;  and  the  veracity  of  pooj 


BITBD'i  OHAKirXL  ■znoBED. 


41 


liddleton,  m  far  as  regards  this  bay  at  least,  was  now 
I  leoffth  established ;  and  in  looking  down  the  strait 
[e  had  passed,  he  was  fully  justified  in  calling  it  a 
Ifrozen  strait."  We  were  now  indisputably  on  oar 
ine  of  future  action,  the  coast  of  America ;  and  it 
ily  remained  for  us  to  follow  minutely  the  line  of 
(ore  in  continuation  from  Repulse  Bay. 


>!>s  mice :  anl 


CHAPTER    II. 

jipedition  to  ezamiite  Hurd*8  Channel — Anchor  within  it— Far* 
fther  examination — Gore  Bay  discovered-  Red  snow — Dangers 
lof  Hurd's  Channel — Enter  a  large  inlet — Captain  Parry's  ab- 
Isence  in  boats — He  meets  with  Natives — Captain  Parry's  second 
iabsence  and  return— Approach  of  winter — Ships  stopped  by 
(young  ice— Cut  iato,  and  takr.)  winter-quarters. 

DuRiNo  the  early  part  of  the  morning  of  the  23rd, 
jhich  was  hazy,  we  coasted  Repulse  Bay,  and,  leaving 
I,  passed  two  other  indentations  of  the  shore,  while 
Allowing  the  continuity  of  the  land  to  the  eastward. 
[eavy  streams  of  ice  lay  in  our  way,  and  a  strong  set 

tide  was  in  opposition  to  us.  At5p.  M.^n  open- 
kg  was  discovered,  and  Captain  Parry  was  induced, 
rem  its  appearance,  to  anchor  the  ships  off  its  mouth, 
rh6.\ce  was  a  great  rush  of  tide,  bringing  very  heavy 
ie  with  it.  1  gladly  acdSepted  Captain  Parry's  pro- 
)sal  to  explore  this  place,  as  we  could  not  afford 
Ime  to  w  lit  for  fine  weather,  in  order  to  obtain  a 
)ear  viev^  from  the  ships ;  and  accompanied  by  Mr. 
[ushnan  and  four  mem,  provisioned  for  four  days,  we 
it  out,  taking  with  us  a  boat  in  case  of  having  to 
|ass  any  other  inlet  than  the  one  we  saw.     We  had 

small  tent,   which,  in  the  form  of  the  roof  of  a 

lodse,  and   supported  on   four   boarding  pikes,   held 

|s  comfortably.     Our  dry  clothes,  and  a  blanket  made 

ito  a  bag,  were  in  knapsacks.    Leaving  the  ships  at 

p.  M.  we  pulled  to  tbo  high  land,  foi'ming  the  wes~ 
4  * 


ik 


JOVmiTBT  TO  mZFLOBE 


tern  boundary  of  the  inlet,  and  landed  on  a  roei 
point,  on  which  very  hea?y  ice  lay  aground.  Haulir 
our  boat  up,  and  marking  her  situation  with  a  sroal 
flag,  we  strapped  on  our  luggHge,  and  set  out  fonj 
hill  about  two  miles  to  the  northward  ;  and  on  whose 
summit  we  had  no  sooner  arrived,  than  we  perceiveij 
we  were  on  an  island  of  about  neven  miles  in  length 
running  ea8t  and  west.  From  hence  our  view,  owinjj 
to  the  constant  rain  which  tell,  was  so  limited,  thai 
we  were  more  confused  than  benefited  by  it.  W« 
therefore  returned  to  the  boat  to  pass  the  night,  whicb 
set  in  before  we  reached  her.  On  our  descent  thd 
ships  were  observed  driving  to  seaward,  pressed  bjj 
the  heavy  ice  and  impetuous  current,  which  wa 
setting  out  upon  them.*  We  pitched  our  tent  od 
the  rocks  where  we  landed,  and  lay  down  until  th(| 
morning.  In  the  course  of  the  night  the  ice  set  paslj 
the  point  on  which  we  were,  at  the  rate  of  at  leasl| 
four  knots ;  and  the  pressure  was  at  times  so  great 
to  cause  large  pieces  to  burst  with  loud  reports  on  tbd 
low  rocks  and  grounded  hummocks,  over  which  it  be] 
came  piled  in  many  places  to  a  great  height. 

The  whole  of  this  ice  consisted  of  compact,  heavjrj 
and  dirty  '^.'^eces,  evidently  not  of  the  last  yearns  for] 
mation,  but  apparently  from  some  lai^e  sea,  which 
not  often  broken  up.  Constant  rain  fell  throughod 
the  night :  and  at  S  a.  m.  on  the  24th,  perceiving  ill 
was  slack  tide,  we  launched  the  boat.  The  inlet] 
however,  was  literally  choked  up  with  ice,  but  whicb 
was  fortunately  so  heavy  as  to  allow  us  a  precariousl 
passage  between  the  grounded  masses  and  the  rocks] 
Two  hours^  labour  brought  us  to  the  northern  shor^ 
ot  bubhnan's  Isle,  whence,  finding  open  water,  we 
crossed  the  strait  to  the  northward  for  a  high  bluffJ 
which  we  had  seen  from  the  ships.  About  mid  chan-j 
nel  we  passed  a  rocky  isle  or  isles,  two  or  threte  milesj 
in  circumference.  On  rounding  a  small  bluff  at  thisi 
place,  on  which  were  great  numbers  of  the  silverjl 

*  The  Fury  lost  an  anchor  by  the  heavy  strain  which  camtl 
down  on  her. 


rnvmnTB  CBAmiBX. 


43 


I  which  cftmel 


^  illf  and  their  young,  we  saw  four  deer  feeding  In  a  little 
raUeyf  but  tliey  ran  quiclcly  from  us,  and  we  sliortly  after 
saw  an  old  bear  and  her  cub  galloping  along  the  rocki, 
tear  the  water^t  edge,  and  apparently  watching  ui. 
;*hey  shortly  after  went  into  the  sea  nmongHt  some  ice, 
ind  we  lost  sight  of  them.  This  circumstance  induced 
le  to  name  the  place  Bear  Island.  The  strait  which 
re  crossed  may  be  estimated  at  about  four  miles  in 
)readth,  and  having  passed  it  we  landed  on  a  low  rocky 
)oint,  on  which  we  hauled  the  boat. 

Leaving  the  point,  which  I  named  after  my  old  friend 
and  messmate  Captain  Cheyne,  we  made  on  for  what  I 
lad  called  Brookes  Bluff,  which,  owing  to  the  heavy 
Irain,  was  but  indistinctly  seen.  Our  road  lay  over  steep 
land  precipitous  rocks  of  granite  and  gneiiss,  and  we 
^ere  occasionally  relieved  by  passing  through  small 
Ivalleys  and  swampy  ravines.     Two  hours  brought  us 
|to  the  Bluff,  whence  we  anticipated  an  extensive  view, 
)ut  had  scarcely  climbed  its  steep  side,  and  reached  the 
Isummit,  when  a  very  heavy  snow-storm  suddenly  fell, 
land,  covering  the  meuntain,  limited  cur  prospect  to  a 
Ifew  yards.     As  our  ascent  had  been  difficult,  I  was  fully 
iWare  of  the  impropriety  of  waiting  until  the  snow  had 
fallen  in  sufficient  quantity  to  cover  our  path.    Taking 
Itherefore  a  hasty  and  most  comfortless  breakfast,  we 
[descended  with  great  caution.    Our  hopes  being  for 
[the  time  defeated,  and  ouj  curiosity  as  to  what  lay  be- 
Ifore  us  more  strongly  excited,  i  determined,  when  the 
Iweather  should  clear  up  a  little,  to  proceed  to  the  east- 
Iward,  but  in  the  me^n  time,  having  found  that  the  east- 
ern part  of  the  Bluff  was  covered  with  silvery  gulls  and 
their  young,  we  amused  ourselves  in  procuring  enough 
for  our  day's  meal.     The  spots  on  which  these  birds 
assembled  were  nearly  perpendicular,  and  quite  clear 
of  the  attacks  of  any  wild  animals.     There  was  no  ap- 
Ipearance  of  nests,  but  the  young  ones  sat  in  clusters  of 
■three  on  the  naked  rock.     While  gull  shooting,  four 
I  deer  ran  past  us.     When  the  weather  cleared  a  little, 
we  passed  along  the  borders  of  an  extensive  lake,  lying 
at  the  foot  of  the  Bluff,  and' in  which  countless  multi- 


^^. 


"linF 


44 


JOVBNBT  TO  EXBLOmS 


todes  of  young  gulls  were  learning  to  fish  and  6wiift| 
under  the  guidance  of  the  parent  birds,  which,  with  in- 
cessant cries,  were  hovering  near  them.   Three  hours" 
wallc  over  a  country  rendered  doubly  gloomy  by  inces- 
sant rain  brought  v:j  to  a  small  strait  about  a  milel 
in  breadth.      As  this    place    excited  some   interest, 
I  determined  on  following  it  to  the  northward..   The 
people  were  left  to  pitch  the  tent,  and,  if  possible,  make 
a  fire ;  and  1  then  set  out  with  Mr.  Bushnan  and  one! 
seaman      Having  walked  about  six  miles  from  the  tent,| 
we  arrived  on  an  open  sea,  over  which  the  thick  wea- 
ther did  not  permit  our  obtaining  a  view  of  above  halfj 
a  mile.     We  were  therefore  constrained  to  return  with- 
out having  satisfied  ourselves.     A  covey  of  ten  ptar-l 
migan  flew  past,  and  we  also  saw  six  very  timid  deer.l 
A  marmotte  was  added  to  our  stock  of  specimens.    We| 
had  endeavoured  to  take  him  alive,  hut  as  he  ran  un- 
der a  large  stone,  and  defended  himself  with  great  vi- 
gour, we  killed  him.    This  creature,  on  being  first  be-l 
sieged,  threw  out  of  his  mouth  a  great  quantity  of  smalll 
roots  and  buds  on  which  he  had  been  feeding,  and  re-l 
peatedly  uttered  a  shrill  cry,  resembling  a  chirp  and  a| 
whistle,  if  it  be  possible  to  combine  two  such  sounds. 
,.  In  the  evening  the  rain  ceased  for  the  first  time  sincel 
leaving  the  ships,  and  permitted  our  making  a  fire  and! 
cooking  our  birds.     The  rocks  being  covered  with  well 
spongy  moss,  we  paved  our  tent  with  rough  stones,  and! 
spreading  the  ashes  of  our  fire  of  andromeda  over  these, 
made  a  tolerably  dry  bed.    Constant  snow  fell  during 
the  night,  which  was  very  cold,  and  at  ti  a.  m.  on  the 
35th,  we  again  set  out,  coasting  the  little  channel  to  the 
southward,  and  thence  round  to  point  Cheyne,  where 
we  arrived,  after  having  walked  about  twelve  miles 
over  the  most  uneven  rocks  we  had  yet  seen.    Ourl 
view  had  been  limited  to  a  few  yards  u-om  the  shore,! 
for  the  snow-storm  was  succeeded  by  a  constant  and 
heavy  fall  of  rain.     On  the  beach  and  the  rocks,  which 
overhung  it,  were  several  remains  of  Eskimaux  settle- 
ments, on  many  of  which  the  smoke  of  fire  yet  re- 
mained.   We  also  saw  several  storehouses  for  contaio- 


)ecame  trai 


Sine,   we  sf 


■J-...- 


htbd's  channel.  4d 

provisions,  built  of  rough  stones,  and  about  six  feet 
ky  three  in  extent.    One  set  of  stones  were  differently 
Irranged  from  those  we  had  before  seen,  all  of  which 
irere  circular.    This  was  about  twenty-five  feet  by 
^fteen,  and  at  either  end,  the  ground  was  raised  as  if 
)r  sleeping-places.     Other  siDgular  arrangements  of 
tones  also  attracted  our  nptice.     They  were  flat  sin- 
gle pieces  set  up  at  ahout  three  yards  apart,  and  ex- 
jnding  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  down  a  gentle  slope, 
irhich  led  to  a  small  lake  in  a  grassy  valley. 

Launching  the  boat,  we  pulled  for  the  Bear  Isles  to 
Lbtain  a  good  view  of  the   ice   rushing  through  the 
Ipening,  and  to  seize  the  tirst  opportunity  to  make  for 
Ihe  ships.     While  waiting,  some  walruses  rose  to  gaze 
It  the  boat,  and  remained  a  short  time  near  U9.     Our 
Ibservations  on  the  tides,  while  at  these  islarids,  with 
Ihose  during  the  night,  were  all  extremely  interesting, 
U  tending  to  prove  that  the  flood  here  came  from  the 
Wthward.     At  noon,  when  it  was  high  water,  the  ice 
pecame  tranquil  for  a  short  space  of  time,  and  we  found 
pur  way  out  to  seaward.     On  landing  at  a  small  isle  to 
^ine,  we  saw  one  ship  at  about  10  miles  to  the  west- 
trard,  and  hoisting  a  blanket  as  a  sail,  we  made  for  her. 
'he  weather,  now  we   were  quite  soaked,  began  to 
blear  up,  and  we  most  fortunately  arrived  on  board  the 
•ury  at  nightfall,  then  seeing  the  tiecla  in  the  distance. 
The  ice  in  the  Frozen  btrait  being  in  vry  rapid  ino- 
[ion,  we  could  not  get  alongside   the  ship  ;  but,  after 
laking  what  way  we  could  amongst  the  loose  pieces, 
ie  reached  a  floe,  to  which  the  Fury  had  made   fast, 
[u8t  as  the  thick  fog  came  on.    The  Fury^s  men  hauled 
|)ur  boat  over  the  floe,  for  about  half  a  mile  :  The  He- 
\,\a  could  not  join,  bemg  prevented  by  the  ice.     Our 
lourney  had  been  unsatisfactory  in  the  extreme,  owing 
jo  the  constant  bad  weather,  yet  it  gave  us  hopes  that 
tome  kind  of  passage  existed  near  the  small  inlet  we 
lad  found.     The  tirst  favourable  change  was  to  decide. 

During  the  night  the  ice  carried  the  Fury  close  in 
irith  an  island,  which,  from  its  shape,  had  acquired  the 
lame  of  Saddle  Back ;  and  while  we  all  remained  in  a 


'-i.i; 


AirOHOR  IN  DUCKETT  COTE. 

li^    ...  ■  ..5     . 

ftate  of  anxiety  swept  her  between  it  and  a  smalleo 
island,  where,  fortunately,  the  soundings  were  go*"'] 
for  bad  they  been  otherwise,  and  had  the  ship  takedj 
the  ground,  the  ice  would  have  gone  over  her,  and  no 
thing  could  have  saved  her.  After  this  immediate  dan 
ger,  the  ship  was  carried  into  open  water. 

The  Heclahadng  joined  on  the  morning  of  the26tl] 
1  went  on  board,  and  afterwards  again  set  out  for  th^ 
shore,  to  look  for  a  sheltered  anchorage,  which  havir 
found,  1  came  on  board.  During  the  time  we  wer^ 
sounding,  great  numbers  of  ihat  beautiful  bird,  thi 
Greenland  swallow  (sterna  hirundo),  continued  hoveij 
ing  near  our  boat.  Heavy  ice  and  irregular  tides  ke[ 
as  in  the  centre  of  the  Frozen  Strait  all  this  day. 

On  the  27th,  Captain  Parry  went  to  examine  my  an 
chorage,  but,  during  the  night,  it  had  been  quite  chokl 
ed   up  with  heavy  ice  :  he  soon  found  another,  a  snu/ 
place,  which  he  permitted  my  naming  Duckett  Cot«] 
Into  this  we  stood,  and  anchored  the  ships  m  security 
Captain  Parry  now  determined  on  examining  the  inle 
by  the  boats,  he  taking  oae  route,  and  1  another.    Mij 
Bushnan  accompanied  me  to  examine  our  little  chan 
Bel,  and  Captain  Pjirry  stood  to  the  S.E.     Our  inled 
which  had  given  rise  to  many  sanguine  hopes,  provej 
dnly  to  be  the  dividing  channel  between  an  island 
the  main,  and  about  six  miles  in  length  by  one  mile  iJ 
breadth.     As  we  proceeded  up  this  to  the  northward 
we  found  a  long  rolling  ground-swell  setting  against  uij 
and  breaking  occasionally,  at  the  same  time  frequent^ 
causing  the  boat  to  pitch  bows  under.     This  was  ei 
traordinary,  as  being  the  first  sea  of  the  kind  we  haj 
yet  met  with  since  leaving  the  Atlantic,  and  therefor 
excited  considerable  hope  that  we  should  find  somj 
outlet  to  the  northward.     Being  quite  unable  to  rounj 
'he  point,  we  landed  within  it ;  and  from  the  unaccon 
modating  form  of  the  rocks,  were  obliged  to  carry  th 
boat  on  our  backs  for  above  three  hun<ired  yards,  be 
fore  we  could  place  her  in  safety.     A  heavy  surf  broli 
on  the  shingle  beach,  to  the  north  of  the  Cape  (whic 
I  owned  after  a  valued  friend,  Montagu;,  and  the  wea 


GORE  BAT— «E0BOINA  ISlAim. 


A7 


ler  being  dear  we  saw  the  land  all  around  qs,  forming 
immense  bay.    The  requisite  bearings  were  taken 
)r  the  construction  of  our  chart,  and  we  returned  and 
(itched  the  tent  on  a  smooth  gravelly  place,  which  had 
ice  been  the  flooring  of  an  Eskimaux  dwellin]^. 
The  forenoon  of  the  28th  was  devoted  to  taking  an- 
tes, obtaining  sights,  &c. ;  and  having,  in  the  course 
'  these  duties,  ascended  a  steep  mountain,  we  saw  the 
}rmation  of  the  northern  land  more  clearly  than  be- 
)re,  and  that  it  encircled  a  noble  bay,  in  which  lay  a 
small  islands.    This  place  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
laming  Gore  Bay ;  and  the  island  beyond  our  first  lit- 
|e  channel  was  honoured  with  that  of  Georgina's  Isle. 
A  large  opening  presented  itself  to  the  eastern  sea, 
some  miles  distance,  and  an  island  half-way  to  it  was 
smarkable  for  its  formation.     A  point  of  the  eastern 
vng  bore  the  name  of  my  friend  Farhill,  and  Rouse's 
.3  the  appellation  of  the  place  1  have  mentioned 

Our  people,  in  their  rambles,  caught  a  bee  (covered 
^ith  very  minute  lice),  two  butterflies,  and  a  couple 
"mice.  Some  deer  were  seen  grazing,  but  they  were 
)t  so  accommodating  as  to  allow  a  near  approach. 

Our  boat  floated  soon  after  noon,  and  we  sailed  to 
^e  only  point  round  which  it  was  possible  for  an  open- 
to  exist ;  but  finding  the  land  continuous,  we  next 
oanded  Georgina's  Isle,  and  in  the  evening,  at  slack 
later,  we  made  for  the  ships,  where  we  arrived  before 
lidnight.  Captain  Parry  had  not  yet  returned.  Our 
Wtsmen,  during  my  absence,  had  killed  a  fine  deer, 
^veral  grouse,  and  a  perfectly  white  hare. 

On  the  29th  Captain  Parry  returned,  but  again 
kft  the  ships  with  six  boats  to  sound  the  straits.  In 
^e  mean  time  parties  went  to  walk  on  shore.    Two 

the  officers  were  much  astonished,  when  crossing 
[ravine,  by  seeing  a  large  white  bear  walk  leisurely 
Wn  it:  he  did  not  observe  them,  but  slowly  took 
ke  water,  where  having  played  lazily  for  some  time, 
b  swam  for  some  ice  in  the  centre  of  the  channel.    ,  i* 

Bed  snow  was  brought  off  to  the  Fury,  and  I  also 


m 


GAME  LAMTS  ESTABLISHED. 


11  I 


foend  some  near  the  ships :  its  colour  was  consideiej 
as  much  fainter  than  that  seen  on  a  former  voyage 
and  the  appearance  of  the  mass  was  not  unlike  whal 
is  called  raspberry  ice,  in  i  far  better  climate,  when 
cold  is  made  subservient  to  luxviry.  It  may  he  need 
less  to  say  that  the  colouring  matter  of  red  snow  wa 
proved,  prior  to  our  leaving  England,  to  consist  of  j 
species  of  fungus,  capable  of  re-production  by  ai 
ficial  cold,  and  I  believe  it  was  even  found  practicable 
by  placing  it  in  a  particular  light,  to  give  it  a  greenisl 
tinge. 

Of  all  the  reasons  given  for  this  remarkable  ap 
pearance,  that  by  a    Peter    Paterson,  who,  in  167l| 
visited   Spitzberghen,  is   the   most   amusing :    '^  Tl 
stones  of  the  rocks  are  full  of  white,  red,  and  yelloil 
veins,  like  marble ;  upon  any  alteration  of  the  weathe^ 
these  stones  sweat,  which,  together  with  the  raio 
tinges  the  snow  red." 

When  Captain  Parry  returned  at  night,  Mr.  Griffitlj 
brought  on.  board  a  large  doe,  which  he  had  kiih 
while  swimming  (amongst  large  masses  of  ice)  from  isil 
to  isle;  two  others,  and  a  fawn,  were  procured 
shore  by  the  Fury's  people.  We  now  were  unde 
the  game  laws,  as  they  existed  at  Melville  Island ; 
which  it  was-  enacted  that,  for  the  purpose  of  econij 
mizing  our  ships'  provisions,  all  deer  or  musk-oxe 
killed  should  be  served  out,  in  lieu  of  the  usual  alloi 
ance  of  meat :  hares,  ducks,  and  other  birds,  were  n^ 
at  this  time  to  be  included.  As  an  encouragement 
sportsmen,  the  heads,  legs,  and  offal  of  the  larger  an 
mals  were  to  be  the  perquisites  of  those  lyho  procure 
the  carcasses  for  the  general  good,  in  the  animals 
this  day  we  were  convinced  that  our  sportsmen  bd 
not  forgotten  the  latitude  to  which  their  perquisit^ 
might  legally  extmti,  for  the  necks  were  made  so  loq 
as  to  encroach  corsiderably  on  the  vertebras  of  th 
back;  a  manner  of  amputating  the  heads  which  h^ 
b^en  learnt  during  the  former  voyage,  and,  no  doub 
would  be  strictly  acted  up  to  in  the  present  one. 

>The  morning  of  the  30tb  proving  too  calm  io  alio 


sAHGnMirs  cBimnub. 


49 


|f oar'goipgtJiroQsli the  stndt,  shootiM^  partletireiit 
shore.    We  saw  seyeral  4eer,  and  Captain  Pany'e 
Bybound  had   some  long  chases  after  them,  hut 
1^  were  far  too  fleet  for  hini. 
Tlye  iay  was  so  warm  that  the  party,  with  whom 
Iwas^  were  glad  to  pull  off  their  coats  and  waistcoats, 
fhich  ^1  perhaps,  the  onljr  instance  of  too  much  saii<- 
16  I  sball  have  to  rscora.    The  Talleys  were  fertilili^ 
grasses  and  moss;  and  the  fineness  of  the  weather 
id  drawn  forth  a  n<amber  of  butterflies,  spiders,  «nd 
^her  Insects,  which  would,  by  their  gay  coloars  and 
BtiTe  motions,  have  almost  mceived  as  into  an  idea 
|iat  we  were  not  in  the  Arctic  regions,  had  not  the 
Dzen  Strait,  filled  with  huge  masses  ef  moving  ice, 
bminded  us  but  too  forcibly,  that  we  were  in  thel 
[ost  dangeroQS  part  of  them.    In  our  walk  we  found 
^  large  mass  or  blaclfc  j|ii|^,  irom  which  we  obtained 
scimens  of  eight  or  tra  Inches  in  length,  and  five 
six  in  thickness. 
tin  thJB  afternoon,  every  one  having  returned  on 
^afd,  we  warped  out  of  the  cove  and  stood  into  the 
kannel.    When  abreast  of  Bear  Isllmd,  I  sert  our 
lall  boat  to  bring  off  some  flags  which  had  been 
iced  as  leading  marks  on  a  small  island  near  it: 
|e  had  scarcely  left  us  when  the  win'    came  very 
\  and  she  was  hid  firom  our  view  hj  the  moving; 
.    At  we  were  in  the  centre  of  a  most  rapid  tide, 
fbired  not  heave  to  for  some  time ;  and  when  at 
we  ifid  so,  our  three  boats  which  were  towing 
irn  were  torn  from  us  by  the  ice.    Our  little  boat 
|w  appeared  in  a  hopeless  state,  as  she  had  to  con- 
id  with  heavy  wind  and  wild  ice,  which,  with  an  im- 
Ituous  tide,  ran  against  the  rocks  with  loud  cra<«iief^^ 
[ibe  rate  of  four  or  five  knots  in  the  centre  stream^^^ 
rould,  at  this  moment,  gladly  have  given  an  arm  to 
her  come  on  board,    with  great  (Hfficulty,  we 
(ed  up  the  othen,  each  hating  a  man  in  her.    At, 
c  the  tide  slackeoefi,  and  I  «ial!  Defer  foiget  n|^ 
isatiooi  it  seeing  liiii^  amall  boat  itrai|ling  sacoess- 
fy  egaintt  it ;  ih«  retehed  ui  «t  lettfth,  wtUi  h^ 
o     ■  .  ■. 


d  y,i 


m 


m 


nr  vox's  cnAMjmxH, 


t,wo  men  much  fatigued.    Standing  again  to  the  eait 
ward,  the  tide  soon  nade  and  the  ice  followed  us 
pidiy.     The  Fury  having  had  no  impediments  had  rad 
out  of  sight,  but  we  had  been  unable  either  to  look  fon 
anchorage  or  to  pass  the  greatest  set  of  tidjB.    The 
land  was  bold  and  steep  too,  yet  to  keep  under  saij 
during  a  dark  night  in  such  a  place  was  impossible 
AAer  some  anxious  hours  we  found  a  small  nook 
which  we  could  get  bottom  and  there  we  anchored 
As  it  blew  hard  off  the  shore,  the  ice  did  no^  iUuclj 
us,  but  passed  at  no  great  distance  with  a  crashin 
noise  during  the  whole  night.     Weighing  at  dayligli 
on  the  3 1st,  we  found  tlie  Fury  anchored  in  a  bay,an| 
soon   after  both  ships  stood  to  the   eastward.    Gor 
Bay  was  packed  with  ice,  and  Georgina  Isle  closeljj 
beset  in  every  direction.    With  the  wind   and  tide 
considerably  in  our  favour,  vif<5  made  our  way  througlj 
a  large  qnantity  of  ice,  and  W  6  p.  m.  found  ourselve 
in  the  S.  £.  opening.     To  the  northward  were  threj 
other  openings  but  these  closely  filled  with  ice     Tt 
enemy  soon  again  paid  us  a  visit,  and  th^  pressui 
carried  us  near,  the  shore,  whence,  with  the  assist^c 
of  the  Fury^s  boats,  we  again  were  cleared  by  nighj 
fall.     A  prevalence  oC  fog,  northerly  wind,  and  he^v 
ice  in  floes  of  some  miles  iu  circumference,  had  ^a 
ried  us,  in  spite  of  constant  labour  and  exertioi 
which  it  would  not  here  be  interesting  to  enuineratd 
tp  the  very  spot  <m  which  we  were  en  thjB  1st  Of  Ai| 
gust!  and  three  days  were  sufficient  for  the  purpos 
Xhus  on  the  3rd  of  September  we  found  that,  afte 
having  with  infinite  anxiety  and;  trouble  traced  tli 
coast  to  the  northward  for  upwr^rds  of  it  month,  nj 
were  now  again  on  the  spot  from  whence  we  had  com 
jnenced  our  operations.    It  is  worthy  of  rems^rk  tha 
haying  been  for  a  considerable  time  without  meetiii 
with  any  old  ice,  we  should,   on  entering  the  lar 
opening  between  America  and  ''  Fox  his  farthest,] 
find  the  sea  filled  with  a  constant  supply  of  unusuail] 
ponderous  floes,  covered  with  sand,  mud,  stones,  &c 

"  Mt^j^iierMnly  not  of  a 


iit.i  'f  " 


ENTSk  tTOir  lltLXT. 


51 


bent  or  bay  fonnation,  bm  in  all  respects  warrantinjf 

[he  sttpposition  that  they  proceeded  ilrom  some  lini^e 

kod  open  sea.    While  lying  helpless  among  tbe  icc|» 

ire  were  one  morning  gratified  by  the  sight  of  a  whit6 

rhale,  attended  by  its  young  one,  which  lay  a  short 

Jistance  nnder  water  near  the  ship :  the  mother,  as 

^saaU  was  of  a  cream  colour,  but  the  cub  was  of  a 

[laty  hue;  and  we  obserYed  that,  wherever  its  dam 

loved,  it  invariably  kept  the  same   position,  which 

ras  immediately  over  her  back,  and  at  about  a  foot 

from   her.     The  Aurora   had  been  very  brilliant   for 

lome  nights,  and  we  now  found  it  appear  constantly 

ID  clear  weather. 

It  was  pot  until  the  5th  that  we  could  get  forward, 

|iDd  then,  by  one  of  the  usual  changes  in  the  naviga- 

ion  of  these  seas,    we  ran  at  the  rate  of  six  knots 

[or  some    hours,   unimpeded,   to  the  north-eastward. 

laving   made  a  large   inlet   or  opening  in  the  land,' 

?e  anchored  for  the  night  at  its  mouth,  and  weighing 

[t  daylight  on  the  6th  ran  up  it  for  about  twenty-five 

liles,  its  breadth  being  about  eight.     Some  islands 

[/in?  in  our   way,   and   the    wind  failing,  anc'iorage 

ras  found,  and  the  ships  came  to,  divided  b^r  a  small 

tie.    Our  hirths  werie  so  confined  that  we  could  not 

ring,  and  therefore  moored  to  the  rocks.     Captain 

^arry  how  left  us,  vriih  i;^o  boats  provisioned  for  a 

reek,  to  examine  the  head  of  the  inlet.     During  Our 

tay  at  our  anchorage,   parties   were   daily  sent    in 

juest   of  game,   but   although  twenty-one  deer  were 

sen  in  one  herd,  none   could  be  obtained.     Smaller 

limals   and    dncks   were    abundantly    procnred.     In 

>ine    short   excursions   which    I    made  amongst  the 

kills,  or  more  properly  nfountains,  I  found  man)'  lakes 

|n  their  top&,  in  which  the  red-throated  divers  were 

Vequent.     In  the  vallays,  as  usual,  were  thick  moss 

[nd  g'ltisses,  but  all  the  eminences  were  of  bare  red- 

sh  granite  and  gneiss.     Near  the  beach,  these  rocks 

Burned  a  grayish  tinge,  and  they  were  full  of  garnets 

|f  a  brilliant  colour,  but  in  such  a  brittle  state  as  ta 

reak  in  detaching  them.    Madrepore,  fossil  shellsi^  dod 


SBALP  ik.IIlSD« 


•    iilHIIIll. 


other  interesting  specimens,  on  a  small  scale,  wen 
found  on  the  shore  near  the  tide  marks.    Some  island 
near  us  had  a  rusty  iron  appearance,  and  their  rocli 
influenced  the  magnet.    A  few  masses  of  plumbago, 
what  is  called  black-lead,  were  brought  off.     They  r« 
sembled  the  ashes  of  a  blacksmith's  foi^e  in  colour  an 
shape,  and  were  of  the  size  of  hazel-nuts     On  ever 
point    within  the  range  of  our  walks,  we  found  recen 
traces  of  Eskimaux,  and  at  about  a  mile  from  the  sb: 
was  a  place  which  they  could  not  have  quitted  abovJ 
a  few  days,  and  perhaps  in  consequence  of  seein,^^  thj 
ships.   A  few  of  the  tent  circles  had  small  raised  sleep 
ing  places,  which  were  covered  with  branches  of  som^ 
dwarf  shrub  we  had  not  yet  met  with :  to  me  it  re{ 
sembled  birch,  yet  from  whence  could  it  have  beej 
brought  ?  and  why,  if  from  a  distance,  was  it  now  leff 
behind  ?  On  the  mountains  behind  these  remains,  hdJ 
at  a  good  mile  from  the  sea,  were  circles  and  piles 
stones,  which  appeared  to  have  been  decoys  for  deeij 
or  shelter  for  the  hunters  to  bide  behind.     The  wholj 
of  the  land  on  this  side  of  the  inlet  had  a  great  tendeo 
cy  to  form  bays  and  fiords  (of  which  we  found  several 
running  three  or  few  miles),  and  was  therefore  adml 
rably  adapted  for  th«3  summer  residence  of  £skimau]^ 
The  quantity  of  sea^s  which  we  daily  saw  also  promii 
ed  a  plentiful  supply  of  fopd,  and  their  extreme  bold 
ness  would  render  them  an  easy  prey.     Some  of  thJ 
officers  one  evening  killed  four,  of  which  two  were 
the  kind  called  phoca  barbata,  or  the  bearded  seal, 
consequence   of  their  large   thick  whiskers,  and  thj 
others  were  the  p.  vittelina.    The  former  were  im' 
mense  animals,  and  v^ry  fat,  weighing,  as  we  supposei^ 
eight  or  nine  cwt.    The  dimensions  of  one  were 
follows : 


LENGTH. 


From  the  nose  to  insertion  of  tail 
Ditto  to  fore  paw,  or  flipper 
Of  fore  flipper 
Of  hind  flipper 


Ft. 
8    01 
1  10 
0  lOl 
1 


8H1V3  BBTBBAT  BBVraa  THE  IOE;         5S' 

I  Its  breadth  when  opened  oat  .  2    0 

Of- the  tail  from  root  to  tip      ,        ,  0-4 

Thebelty       .        .        .        .        .        ,        7     1 

!  Behind  fore  flipper     .     .        6    9f 

I  Before  hind  flinper         .        .        .        .        3    0 
I  Head,  behind  the  'ears     .        .        .        .        2     5 

Of  the  nose     .  .        .        .        .         14 

I  The  vast  quantity  of  these  creatures  had  doubtless 
ken  attracted  to  the  spot  by  the  abundance  of  small 
irimps,  moluscsB,  and  other  marine  insects,  with  which 
le  sea  is  almost  discoloured  in  the  bays.  The  gulls, 
|e  eider  and  other  ducks  and  divers,  also  derive  a 
leDtiful  subsistence  from  the  same  means  which  Na- 
Ire  has  here  so  abundantly  supplied.  Several  black 
Id  white  whales  were  seen  daily ;  and,  in  many  in-- 
linces,  close  to  the  ships.    Orice  in  particular,  a  large 

ick  whale  rose  and  lay  so  near  our  side,  that  "he  could 
Ive  been  struck  from  the  gangway. 
IOd  the  1 1th  we  observed  that  the  strait  between  our 
jrbours  and  the  islands  lying  off  was  filled  by  an  ex- 

isive  floe,  which  occupied  its  wholfe  breadth.    From 
bills  we  perceived '  that  a  vast  quantity  of  heavy 
s,  under  the  influence  of  a  southerly  wind,'was  rapid-  « 
[filling  the  inlet.     The  accumulation  still  continuing, 

feared  that  our  protecting  floe  might  break,  and 
|ow  the  whole-  weight  of  ice  to  come  down  on  us. 

the  12th,  therefore,  I  sent  the  Fury  to  a  bay  about 
tee  miles  higher  up  the  inlet;  and  when  she  was 
bure  we  followed  her  through  the  same  channel.  It' 
png  dead  low  water,  the  bottom  waS' clearly  seen, 

i,  at  one  titne,  we  passed  so  close  to  a  sharp  rock, 
jiich  was  only  eight  feet  under  water,  that  our  hand.' 
[d  fell  on  it.     This  danger,  from  its  shape,  had  not 
in  detected  by  the  boats,  which  for  two  days  had' 
Med  the  channel. 

If.  Sherer  having  returned  from  CaptainPRrryi  I' 
Is  informed  by  him  that  they  had  seen  three  men» 
U  ran  along  the  rocks,  following  the  boat,  which,. 


94 


TWO  VAlMfini  «f  ITATimt. 


from  the  nature  of  the  ihbre,  could  not  easUj  effect 
landing.    When  this  was  accomplished,  Captain  Parr 
walked  op  to  the  nati?ei,  who  stood  perfectly  nprighil 
and  motionless  nntil  h«  approached.    Two  carried! 
bows  and  arrows,  the  third  had  a  spear.    A  kind  oif 
salutation,  resembling  that  which  Hudson  receiTsdl 
from  the  natives  at  Cape  Digges,  now  took  place! 
which  was  by  stroking  the  breasts  in  a  solemn  manner] 
They  tlien  led  to  a  tent  composed  of  skins,  and  near  ill 
were  several  deer  hides  stretched  on  the  ground  ((( 
dry.    Two  women,  and  four  children,  here  made  thei 
.  i^ipearance,  and  completed  the  party  to  nine.    Tlic 
tent  was  unfurnished,  and  no  provision  of  any  kind  wa 
seen  within  it,  which  led  to  a  supposition  that  it  was  i 
mere  temporary  residence  for  the  accommodation 
the  men,  who  were  deer  hunting.    The  whole  appear<| 
ance  of  these  people  was  far  more  prepos8ess.ng  tha 
that  of  our  first  visit  'is,  and  the  absence  of  the  smell 
of  trtfin  oil  led  our  people  to  suppose,  that  at  this  ii 
mediate  period,  they  did  not  subsist  on  seals,  but  dec 
only.    Their  dresses  were  of  the  skins  of  the  latter! 
dean,  and  in  good  order.    There  was  but  one  meD^ 
canoe,  which  lay  in  readiness  for  the  chase  of  an 
deer  which  might  cross  the  inlet,  a  circumstance  whici 
Captain  Parry  had  frequently  witnessed.    One  of  thj 
women  wore  a  bracelet  of  black  and  white  beads,  whic 
•ts  must  have  held  in  great  esteem,  as,  on  coming  td 
"i^e  boat,  it  was  found  she  had  taken  off  and  hidden  itj 
^he  roots  and  branches  of  ground  willow  were  brough 
^%>wn  to  the  beach  for  firing,  on  the  backs  of  thd 
women,  being  piled  above  the  little  children  which 
in  their  hood».    In  this  task  the  men  afforded  them  oij 
amistance.    Captain  Parry  gave  the  women  some  pi 
sents,  but  nothing  afforded  so  much  delight  as  thd 
empty  tin  meat  canisters,  which  they  hugged  aud  kisse 
frith  the  liveliest  demonstrations  of  joy.    One  of  thd 
lyen  parted  readily  with  his  bow,  arrows,  and  quiveij 
lU  very  curiously  formed,  and  which  in  some  futur 
page  I  shall  describe. 
Before  the  interview  was  concluded^  a  pewter  jt 


TBAiriAOTlOlIt  WBIUI  IN  lltttt  IHXBT.       ff 


and  two  tpoonn,  were  miffed  from  the  boat.  Mr.  8b«r- 
er,  whofe  property  thev  were,  woald  have  made  in- 
Istant  search  for  them,  but  Captain  Pari7  wak  at  ftrst 
luDwilliDg  to  fluppofle  that  people  who  bad  been  so  Itind- 
llj  treated  could  make  so  ill  a  return.  When  at  length 
Ithe  examination  was  made,  the  articles  were  found  on 
la  woman,  who,  instead  of  being  ashamed,  laughed  im- 
[moderately  at  her  detection.  Mr.  Sherer  bad  been 
Ibaii^ining  with  this  lady  for  her  boots,  which  were  of 
la  most  cumbrous  size,  and  one  which  she  pulled  off 
Iwas  readily  parted  with,  but  no  persuasion  could  induce 
Iher  to  give  him  the  other.  This  led  to  suspicion,  and, 
Ion  examination,  the  pot  and  spoons  were  both  found  in 
lit.  Of  course  the  thief  and  her  countrymen  were  all 
[driven  away,  and  the  boat  went  on  with  the  survey. 

Early  on  the  13th  I  went  to  the^  S.W.  land  to  look 
I  for  anchorage,  and  ailerwards  ascended  some  barren 
mountains  of  granite,  on  the  top  of  which  were,  as 
I  usual,  several  Eskimaux  circles  of  stones.  From  the 
Iheigfats  1  saw  an  immense  body  of  ice  entering  the 
Istraits  very  rapidly  from  the  seaward.  An  officer,  who 
I  had  rambled  in  a  different  direction  from  myself, 
Ibrought  down  a  fine  salmon  trout  from  a'  lake  in  the 
I  mountains,  and  four  white  hares,  which  he  had  killed 
amongst  the  rocks.  Before  I  could  reach  the  ships  I 
Ifonnd  they  were  close  beset  with  heavy  ice,  and  it  was 
[with  difficulty  we  got  ^he  boat  on  board. 

On  the  14th,  after  four  hours  warping  through  one 
I  mile  of  loose  ice,  we  made  an  offing  and  ultimately 
anchored  off  i  beach  at  the  head  of  the  inlet.  At 
8  p.u.  Captain  Parry  returned  on  board,  having  failed 
in  finding  any  outlet  to  the  place  he  had  been  exa- 
mining, which  was  very  extensive,  full  of  fiords,  and 
rapid  over  falls,  of  the  tide.  The  first  three  days, 
after  leaving  the  ships,  were  foggy  and  unpleasant,  the 
latter  five  particularly  fine.  He  had  procured  a  suffi- 
ciracy  of.game  to  afford  his  people  a  hot  supper  every 
evening,  which,  after  the  c<m9tant  labour  of  the  da(y, 
{was  highly  acceptable.  f^ 

Deer  weire  very  numerous,  but  they  invariably  took 


56 


AHIIXTT  VOB  THX 


'i|' 


the  water  on  being  dittarbed,  in  preference  to  running 
inland,  and  they  iwam  with  great  yigour.  In  one  in- 
stance  he  chased  lome  acrow  an  inlet  a  mile  in.bceadtb,| 
in  a  boat  pulling  four  oars,  and  they,  escaped. 

Wishing  to  connect  more  satisfactorily  the  land  be* I 
tween  Gore  Bay  and  eur  present  inlet  (which  Captain 
Parry  had  done  me  the  honour  to  name  after  me),  and 
to  examine  carefully  the  land  we  had  ran  so  rapidly 
past  OB  the  6th  and  6th',  Captain  Parry  again  left  us. on 
the  evening  of  the  15th,  provisioned  for  nine  days. 
Mr.  Hoppner,  who  had  been  away  to  eiamine  a  small 
inlet,,  returned  at  the  same  time,  bringing  with  him 
the  carcasses  of  three  fine  deer,  killed  by  himself  and  | 
crew.  The  wind  continued  fresh  from,  the  N.N.W. 
until  the  31st,  and,  during  this  time,  nothing  of  any  in> 
terest<  occurred;  Mr.  Hoppner  was  sent  to  examine  I 
the  south-eastern  entrance  of  the  lai^^  inlet. 

While  we  remained  at  our  different  anchorages,  our  I 
sportsmen  had  been  pretty  successful,  and,  to  explain 
what  I  mean  by  this  term,  I  subjoin  a  list  of  animals  | 
and  birds  lEilled  by  the  Hecla's  people  in  a  fortnight 
4  deer^  40  hares,  82  ptarmigan,  60  ducks,  3  divers,  3 1 
foxes,  3  ravens,  4.  sesds,  ermines,  marmottes,  mice. 

My  English  sporting  friends  most  not  laugh  at  the  I 
number  oi*  animals.  I  put  in  company  with  real  gamej 
for  it  is  to  he  understood  that  in  the  Arctic  regions, 
where  for  only  three  months  in  a  year  the  sea  is  open,  | 
or  the  land  clear  of  snow,  even  a  mouse  is  worthy  of  a 
chase,  as  a  specimen  ^  but  the  foxes,  ravens,  &c.  were| 
not  always  thrown  away  when  skinned ;  and,  latterly, 
they  became  dainties  to  many^-myself  amongst  the 
number. 

The  form  of  the  ermine  is  extremely  elegant,  the 
body  being  long  and  slender  like  that  of  the  weasel ; 
the  legs  short  and  muscular  and  its  motions  extremely 
active  and  graceful,  the  piercing  black  and  prominent 
eyes  adding  not  a  little  to  the  pleasing  appearance  of  | 
the  animal.  The  brown  ones  when  running  have  the 
appearance  of  little  foxes,  carrying  their,  tail  horizon«^  | 
tally,  and  taking  surprising  leaps.    When  pursued,  the 


BBTITBir  OV  OAFTAIN  PASBT. 


sr 


irmioe  hat  the  power  of  emitting  a  very  strong  musky 
imellf  which  I  once  had  an  opportunity  of  observing  in 
;  chase  that  a  boat^s  crew  and  mvself  had  after  n  white 
)De,  over  some  steep  rocks,  where  its  colour  alone 
enabled  us  to  continue  the  pursuit. 
On  the  21st,  finding  the  inlet  nearly  clear  of  ice,  we 
reigbed  and  stood  down  it,  but  baffling  wind*  and  calms 
illowed  us  to  make  very  small  progress ;  and  we  es- 
teemed ourselves  highly  fortunate  at  nightfall  in  find- 
ing the  ships  off  a  place  where  we  could  ob:«in  sound- 
jogs;  here  we  anchored,  unprotected  from  all  winds 
)ut  the  northi,  and  at  the  foot  of  a  steep  rock.     We 
lay  here  until  the  24th  in  aniious  eipectatirn  of  the 
]return  of  Captain  Parry;  when,  his  proper  time  having 
expired,  I  determined  at  all  events  to  run  down  the 
coast,  well  aware  of  the  difficulties  the  ships  must  en- 
counter; for  the  side  of  the  inlet  on  which  we  w-r.: 
ras  bounded  by  high  rocky  hills  and  steep  clifis,  r<!ar 
rhich  it  was  impossible  to  anchor ;  while  on  the  oppo- 
ite  shore  the  soundings  were  generally  regular,  and 
KDchorage  might  be  found  all  along  it ;  but  there  we 
kliould  have  been  effectually  removed  froi.!  the  track 
[lie  boats  were  to  pursue  on  their  return,     la  the  afl<ir- 
joon  the  wind  came  round  and  blew  hard  u|)  the  strait. 
?roro  the  mast  head  the  sea  was  observed  to  be  cover- 
ed with  ibeavy  ice,  but  happily  open  towards  where 
ire  expected  the  boats.     In  the  evening  we  tried  in 
^ain  for  anchorage,  and  I  found  we  must  continue  under 
|aii  in  this  place  during  a  long  dark  nigi  ,  half  a  gale 
)lowing,  and  the  ice  setting  in  from  BeaviUxcd.    Under 
jill  these  circumstauces  it  may  he  conceived  how  anx-. 
lously  the  boats  were  looked  for :  as  for  the  ships,  they 
were  in  no'  danger.     At  8  p.m.  the  Fury  burnt  a  blue 
bgbt,  which  was  answered  instautly  by  a  distant  flash 
Irom  a  musket  in  the  boats,  who  had  before  made  the 
jignal  unp^rceived  by  us,,  while  in  the  act  of  wearing. 
\x  10,  to  my  great  satisfaction.  Captain  Parry  and  his 
j>eople  came  back  safe  and  well.     I  now  learned,  that 
^D  the  second,  evening  they  were  frozen  up  in  a  place 
rhere  we  had  tried  for  anchorage  this  afternoon. 


Ml 


n^ 


III 


M 


I 


i    !;li 


i:! 


'  iipip' 


m> 


B  iis 


IE  'ill 


ll 


r '  ''ll 


n 


AKEddb^  dv  A  Jb6B. 


Here  he  was  detained  two  anxious  days,  and,  at  teng 

fetting  clear,  be  ran  down  to,  and  sailed  round,  Go; 
lay,  at  that  time  perfectly  clear  of  ice,  bnt  by  thi 
next  morning  it  wac*  quite  filled  with  heavy  piecei 
which  much  impeded   his  return.     During  the  fi 
night,  the  cries  of  Eskimaux  calling  to  each  othei 
were  heard  on  Georgina's  Isle,  and  the  boats  instantl; 
crossed ;  but  it  being  dark,  all  search  proved  ineffectual 
Having  satisfactorily  connected  the  land  of  Lyon  In! 
with  the  Bay,  Captain  Parry  again  returned,  but  w 
^  onee  more  frozen  up  in  a  small  bay,  where  he  was  d 
..  tained  three  days ;  when,  finding  there  was  no  chanci 
:  of  getting  out,  in  consequence  of  the  very  rapid  formi 
^  tion  of  young  ice,  he  determined  on  carrying  the  boai 
I  Over  a  low  point  of  land,  one  mile  and  a  half  in  widt 
This  arduous  task  was  accomplished  after  nine  or  tei 
$  hours  severe  exertion,  and  they  then  reached  the  shi 
Much  game  had  been  fortunately  procured  by  t' 
boats^  crews,   and  consisted  of  two  fine  deer,  abc 
.  twenty   hares,   and   a   dozen  grouse.     From   Captaii 
Parry  I  learned  an  interesting  anecdote  of  a  doe  am 
her  fawn,  which  he  had  pursued  across  a  small  inlel 
The  mother,  finding  her  young  one  could  not  swim 
fast  as  herself,  was  observed  to  stop  repeatedly,  so 
to  allow  the  fawn  to  come  up  with  her,  and,  bavii 
landed  first,  stood  watching  it  with  trembliHf  anxie 
as  the  boat  chased  it  to  the  shore.     She  was  repeated! 
fired  at,  but  remained  immoveable  until  her  offspri; 
landed  in  safety,  when  they  both  cantered  out  of  sighl 
During  the  25th  we  ran  to  the  entrance  of  the  strail 
when  finding  the  fica  filled  with  large  does,  We  agaii 
ran  a  short  distance  up  it.     Some  hours  were  occupi 
during  very  inclement  weather  in  seekmg  an  anch 
rage ;  one  at  length  being  found,  we  came  to  in  tl 
evening.    Our  anchorage  becoming  unsate,  in  eoni 
quence  of  the  approach  of  ice.  We  left  it  on  th^  26 
and  ran  to  the  opposite  shore ;  the  shortness  of 
daylight  rendering  it  necessary  to  seek  for  sheli 
many  hours  before  the  approach  of  nights    lb  t 
cteiyiBg,  while  off  a  Bheiiring  btaoh,  the  Fury  gh>tiDdt{ 


I-        ■  ( 


■71- ■ 


•AVETT  QOTX. 


59 


a  shoal ;  we  iipmediately  anchored  as  near  as  was 
}Dsi9tent  with  our  safety,  and  she  hove  off  by  us  and 
faking  sail  took  a  new  birth.  A  boisterous  night 
rougbt  a  quantity  of  ice  down  upon  us,  but  we  re- 
vived no  damage;  and  at  daylight  on  the  27th  the 
[ecla  was  found  so  close  to  the  grounded  ice  on  the 
)oal  as  to  render  it  necessary  to  run  into  the  strait 
Pain.  With  four  boats  Captain  Parry  and  myself 
hooded  for  some  hours,  and  at  length  succeeded  in 
iding  a  snug  cove,  into  i^hich  we  gladly  ran  the  ships, 
i  this  place,  which  from  its  security  obtained  the  name 
'Safety  Cove,  we  remained  a  week,  during  which  we 
id  so  severe  a  northerly  gale  as  to  oblige  us  to  strike 
^e  lower  yards  and  topmasts ;  and  it  continued  una- 
ited  with  heavy  rain  for  four  days.  In  the  meantime 
icers  Were  sent  on  shore  twice  each  day  to  walk  to 
le  bills  and  observe  the  state  of  the  ice;  all  their  re- 
)rts,  however,  were  unfavourable  to  our  leaving  the 
i\et 

We  were  surprised  at  finding  three  grouse,  as  we 
lagined  they  had  all  left  the  country.  1  killed  them, 
observed  that  they  had  now  completely  assumed 
^eir  snowy  plumage.  The  tracks  of  marmottes,  mice, 
id  ermines  were  very  numerous;  and  I  obtained  one 

the  latter,  after  having  been  much  amused  by  seeing 

hunt  over  some  mice  tracks  in  exactly  the  same 
inner  as  a  hound  after  a  fox.  When  this  little  crea- 
[re  was  killed,  I  actually  trod  on  him  in  seeking  his 

dy  amongst  the  snow,  for  he  was  so  thoroughly  white 
kat  i  coald  not  see  him,  his  black  tail  being  covered, 
[now  observed  a  curious  kind  of  burrow  made  by  these 
^mals  beneath  the  snow,  which  was  pushed  up  in  the 

le  manner  as  the  tracks  of  moles  through  the  earth 

Eogland.    These  passages  ran  in  a  serpentine  direc- 
}D,  and  near  the  hole  or  dwelling-place  the  circles 
lere  multiplied,  as  if  to  render  the  approach  more 
Itricate. 

Several  deer  were  at  various  times  seen  on  shore, 
kd  in  one  instance  they  were  twenty-six  in  a  herd. 
[wo  large  whales  remained  constantly  near  tl^  ships 


60 


THB  WIirTBB  BXOnrS  TO  SET  IK. 


t  •  % 


'i  mt 


in  the  cove,  and  one  was  an  object  of  particular  inte*! 
rest,  as  on  its  left  side  near  the  tail  was  a  large  woundj 
or  indent,  which  our  Greenland  fishermen  conceived 
had  been  caused  by  a  harpoon.    Had  the  weather  per-l 
mitted  we  should  have  endeavoured  to  strike  this  fisbJ 

On  the  4th  a  more  favourable  report  was  made  off 
the  appearance  of  the  ice  from  the  hills,  and  we  idI 
consequence  weighed  and  stood  into  the  strait.  While! 
canting  the  ship  in  her  narrow  anchorage  we  saw  al 
large  bear  on  the  beach  close  to  us,  lying  with  his  headl 
between  his  paws  watching  our  motions.  As  we  werel 
then  too  much  occupied  to  endeavour  to  kill  him,  ll 
made  signs  to  the  Fury,  but  they  did  not  understand! 
me  until  too  late  to  go  after  him.  As  we  quitted  the! 
cove  the  animal  rose  and  leisurely  mounted  a  small! 
eminence,  from  whence  he  anxiously  watched  us  for! 
some  time  and  then  walked  off  along  the  beach,  onl 
which  it  had  been  almost  our  daily  practice  to  go  sing*' 
ly  and  unarmed  to  search  for  specimens. 

At  the  entrance  of  the  iniet  we  found  the  ice  stilll 
packed,  and,  alter  the  usual  search,  secured  an  anchor-[ 
affe  for  the  night.  At  1  a.  m.  on  the  5th  a  heavy  bodyl 
of  ice  came  driving  fast  from  the  N.  W.  It  was  par-f 
tially  stopped  for  an  hour  by  a  shoal  near  us,  but  at! 
length  bursting  over  this,  we  were  so  completely  besetl 
as  to  be  in  very  unpleasant  circumstances  until  day-f 
light,  when,  by  one  of  those  almost  magical  changes! 
we  had  so  often  observed,  it  suddenly  left  us,  and  in! 
two  hours  not  a  piece  was  to  be  seen.  The  mouth  ofl 
the  inlet,  however,  was  still  close  packed,  and  youbgl 
ice  formed  strongly  within  our  anchorage.  While  onl 
shore  at  noon  with  Captain  Parry,  a  curious  hawk! 
hovered  over  us  for  some  moments,  and  at  length j 
pouncing  very  near  a  dog  which  was  with  os,  we  ob- 
served that  the  bird  was  perfectly,  white,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  tips  of  its  wings  which  were  jet  black.! 
As  we  had  just  crossed  a  recent  bear  track,  my  guol 
was  loaded  with  ball,  so  that  I  could  not  procure  the 
hawk,  which  I  had  little  doubt  would  prove  a  new  bird 
to  us.    During  oar  walk  we  were  much  itrackbya 


;■  ^ 


THE  WINTER  BEGINS  TO   SET  IN. 


61 


leauliful  appearance   which  erery  where  presented 

[tseif ;  every  stone  with  sharp  or  irregular  edges  had 

liem  deeply  encrusted  with  most  brilliant  crystals  of 

ransparent  ice,  exhibiting  all  the  prismatic  colours  in 

le  glare  of  the  sun.     To  their  vivid  hues  a  strong 

)ntrast  was  opposed  by  the  dead  opake  *vhite  of  the 

irrounding  snow.     In  such  of  the  valleys  as  exhibited 

Iny  signs  of  vegetation,  we  observed   that  every  with- 

|red  flower  or  stalk  of  grass  which  rose  above  the  rest 

jss  encased  in  an  icicle,  resembling  in  form  that  part 

If  a  child's  coral  which  is  put  into  the  mouth,  although 

|f  a  far  larger  size.     Many  of  the  small  stems,  which 

)rmed  the  nucleus  of  these  icicles,  did  not  exceed  a 

lall  packthread  in  thickness ;  and  I  observed  that 

lach  was  situated  on  the  northern  side  of  its  attendant 

rystal.     The  clearness  ofyhe  day,  and  the  glistening 

the  surrounding  scenefPPlt'ad  on  the  whole  a  most 

jovel  and  fairy-like  appearance. 

With  a  fresh  breeze  from  N.N.W.  we  weighed  on 

18  morning  of  the  6th,  and  ran  down  the  strait ;   but 

)wards  noon  the  wind  ceased  in  a  great  measure,  and 

Ire  came  amongst  young  ice,  in  that  state  called  sludge,' 

pich  resembles  in  appearance  and  consistency  a  far 

jlter  thing — lemon-ice.     From  this  we  came  to  small 

)and  plates,  of  about  a  foot  in  diameter,  which  have 

16  appearance  of  the  scaler  of  gigantic  fishes.     In  this 

|)rin  it  has  the  name  of  pancake  ice,  and  next  assumes 

lat  of  bay  ice.     I  have  been  thus  particular,  because 

this  day  we  passed  through  each  of  the  above  stages 

the  succession  in  which  I  have  named  them.     As 

ir  impediments   increased,   1    accompanied    Captain 

[arry  in  the  afternoon  to  sound  a  small  open,  bay  in  a 

Itle  cape  of  land,  forming  the  S.E.  extremity  of  the 

[let,  and  round  which,  had  the  ice  permitted,  we 

lould  have  endeavoured  to  reach  a  distant  point,  about 

irenty  miles  to  the  north-eastward. 

In  this  bay  we  found  the  young  floe  rapidly  forming. 

faying,  as  well  as  circumstances  would  permit,  apcer- 

[ined  the  safety  of  the  anchorage,  we  brought  the 

>ips  in  after  noon.    The  water  was  here  so  tran- 

6 


!     :ill 


Hi 


^ 


}'            lili 

1 

ill 

1 

if 

i 

1  :.JIillJI!illki. 

'M 

&^ 


TAKE  OUB  WINTER  <lVABTEBff* 


sparent  as  to  allow  of  our  seeing  the  bottom  in  nio 
fathoms. 

The  ice  continuing  to  form  solidly  round  the  shif 
;in  officer  was  occasionally  sent  to  the  shore  to  see  i 
the  offing  was  clear  enough  to  permit  our  getting  foil 
WFrd  if  we  should  cut  out;  but  the  reports  were  unj 
favourable. 


,.,:|,^^ 


CHAPTER  III. 


Ships  take  their  winter  quarters — Theatricals — The  School—Oil 
servatory  built — Foxes — Shortest  day— Christinas — The  AuroiJ 
— New  year — Arctic  fox — Wine  frozen — Arrival  of  the  Esk| 
maux,  and  a  pack  of  woiv(u|i9||iow  houses — Interior  arrang 
ment — Tattooing — Honesty^Hpie  natives — Frost  bites — LuxJ 
ries — Manner  of  sewing — Boldness  of  the  wolves — Music — A 
nalooa. 

On  the  forenoon  of  the  8th  I  accompanied  Captai| 
,  Parry  on  shore,  to  examine  from  the  hills  the  dista 
sea  ice.  Every  thing  indicated  the  settled  commenc 
ment  of  the  winter,  and  it  was  decided  to  remain  i 
our  present  position  with  the  ships.  We  found  till 
land  covered  with  snow,  on  which  ,we  frequently  cro 
sed  the  recent  tracks  of  bears ;  and  in  one  place  fouii| 
the  lair,  or  hole  in  the  snow,  where  one  of  these 
mals  had  slept  the  preceding  night. 

On  our  return  we  walked  off  to  the  ships,  not  hoK 
ever  without  being  pretty  frequently  reminded  of  od 
situation,  for  the  ice  bent  like  leather  beneath  oq 
weight ;  a  quality  which  I  believe  is  only  possessed  I 
salt  water  ice,  and  that  when  recently  formed. 

In  the  evening  both  ships'  companies  were  emplojl 
ed  in  cutting  a  canal,  by  which  we  might  enter  farthJ 
into  the  bay,  and  having  advanced  about  half  a  miU 
the  ships  took  up  their  winter  quarters.  During  til 
operation  of  sawing,  several  men  at  various  times  fel 
through  the  ice,  but  being  speedily  drawn  out  and  frea 


*B-r 


THEATRICALS. 


63 


^othed,  no  unpleasant  consequences  w^re  brought  on 
these  cold  baths. 

During  the  first  week  our  time  was  fully  occupied 
clearing  and  preparing  the  ships  for  the  winter. 
That  we  did  professionally  will  not  interest  my  little 
Iroily  circle,  I  therefore  pass  it  over.  Suffice  it  to  say 
lat  every  arrangement  which  could  contribute  to  our 
3neral  comfort  and  health  was  made  by  Captain  Parry. 
The  warming  apparatus  by  Mr.  Sylvester  answered 
Iroirably,  and  promised  us  a  mor<;  pleasant  tempera- 
lire  than  could  by  any  means  be  procurePi  in  the  for- 
mer voyage.  The  crews  and  officers  of  each  ship 
fere  put  on  rather  a  reduced  allowance  of  provisions, 
[hich,  however,  was  still  amply  sufficient,  now  that  no 
jvere  labour  was  going  on. 

The  carpenters  were  set  to  work  in  erecting  a  small 
)use  for  an  observatory  on  a  beach  about  two  cables' 
^ngth  a-head. 

A  liberal  subscription  having  been  made  amongst 
^e  officers  prior  to  leaving  England,  by  which  a  stock 
theatrical  clothes,  &c.  was  purchased,  it  was  now 
poposed  by  Captain  Parry  that,  as  our  active  opera- 
Ions  had  ceased  for  a  time,  we  should   make  arrange- 
ments for  performing  plays  once  a  fortnight  throughout 
\e  winter,  as  a  means  of  amusing  the  seamen,  and  in 
^me  degree  to  break  the  tedious  monotony  of  our  con- 
lement.     As  there  could  be  no  desire  or  hope  of  ex- 
jlling,  every  officer^s  name  was  readily  entered  on 
ke  list  of  dramatis  personae.     Those  ladies  who  had 
lerished  the  growth  of  their  beards  and  whiskers,  as 
[defence  against  the  inclemency  of  the  climate,  now 
Boerously  agreed  to  do  away  with  such  unfeminine 
laments,  and  every  thing  bade  fair  for  a  most  stylish 
^eatre. 

The  weather  bad  of  late  been  clear  and  fine,  and 
iring  the  last  week  a  party  from  each  ship  had  been 
iployed  on  shore,  in  boiling  and  extracting  oil  from 
ke  blubber  we  had  obtained  during  the  summer,  as  a 
rinter'a  store  for  our  lamps.  The  smell  of  the  burnt 
ii  attracted  numerous  iozes  to  our  neighbourhood, 


64 


SHBIMF9. 


■  Im 


ki,u 


,if  :;l-?li 


and  cii  the  19th  1  was  so  fortunate  a=i  to  catch  one  in^ 
trap.  He  was  small,  and  not  perfectly  ivhite,  but  hk 
U^meness  was  so  remarkable^  ibat  I  couJtl  not  resoU^ 
to  kill  him,  but  confined  hinn  on  deck  in  .<  .^-nall  hutch 
with  a  scope  of  cbnin.  The  liM'.e  t'inja?  <  jitonishei 
us  very  much  by  his  extraordinary  sagacily,  for,  duJ 
insr  the  first  day,  findiug  bim<<elf  much  tormented  by  be] 
ing  fhawn  out  epeatedly  by  his  chain,  he  at  lengtbf 
Yviionover  he  retreated  to  hia  hut,  tool-  thiv  carefulll 
up  in  his  moutlt,  and  drew  it  so  complciiftly  after  him 
,  that  no  one  who  valued  bis  iinsfcTS  wouid  endeavour  td 
take  hold  of  the  end  atiached  to  the    iaple.  [ 

During  the  night  of  the  25th  the  foxes  were  observ] 
er]  in  great  numbers  on  the  beach,  and  in  four  hours 
Ijitoen  were  caught  in  my  trap  alone.  I  was  surprised 
on  getting  up  in  the  morning  to  see  this  immense  bean 
piled  on  the  deck  of  my  cabin.  It  was  remarkable] 
that  all  which  had  as  yet  been  caught  or  shot  werq 
males  and  very  fat;  then  flesh,  indeed,  had  so  good  ai 
appearance,  that  many  trials  were  made  of  it.  All 
were  horrified  at  the  idea  of  eating  foxes,  but  verJ 
many  soon  got  the  better  of  their  delicacy  and  founij 
them  good  eating.  Not  being  myself  very  nice,  I  sooii 
made  the  experiment,  and  found  the  flesh  much  rej 
sembling  that  of  kid,  and  afterwards  frequently  had 
supper  of  it. 

About  this  time  two  remarkable  varieties  of  thesa 
animals  were  caught  by  an  officer  of  the  Fury ;  theij 
colour  was  a  deep  chocolate,  and  in  some  places  tm 
tips  of  their  coat  were  grizzled.  I 

We  had  for  aome  time  observed  that,  in  the  fire! 
hole,  which  was  kept,  open  in  the  ice  alongside, 
countless  multitude  of  small  shrimps  were  constantlj 
I  rising  near  the  surface,  and  we  soon  found  that  in  twew 
ty-four  hours  they  would  clean,  in  the  most  beautifd 
manner,  the  skeletons  of  the  foxes,  round  which,  af 
long  as  any  flesh  remained,  they  would  cluster  likel 
swarm  of  bees,  not  even  letting  go  their  hold  when  thj 
carcass  was  lifted  out  of  the  water :  they  never  devouij 
cd  the  sinews,  so  that  all  the  limbs  remained  attachcl 


■:f 


THE   SCHOOL* 


65 


their  respective  joints,  and  it  was  only  requisite  to 
k  them  to  form  as  complete  a  skeleton  as  an  anato- 
list  would  wish  to  see.  The  shrimps  would  not  eat 
)iQ  of  any  kind,  for  1  placed  the  6ipper  of  a  seal 

lODgst  them,  and  in  a  few  hours  it  was  quite  cleaned 

hbin-side,  the  bones  being  left  as  in  a  bag.  I  tried 
jme  experiments  on  these  little  gluttons  by  freezing 
lem  in  di£ferent  temperatures,  and  endeavouring  to 
|ing  them  to  life  again,  but  did  not  succeed  ;  in  fact, 

cruelty  did  not  deserve  that  I  should. 
[Northerly  winds  had  now  become  very  prevalent, 
Id  I  observed,  on  poles  which  had  been  placed  as  di- 
[ction  posts,  that  a  thin  coating  of  transparent  ice  was 

rmed  on  the  side  opposed  to  that  quarter,  while  to 
le  southward  the  wood  remained  dry  and  clean, 
prcely  a  night  passed  without  the  appearance  of  the 

irora  Borealis,  which,  although  not  so  magnificent  as 
Kght  be  expected  a  few  months  later,  was  extremely 
lautiful. 
I  Much  to  the  credit  of  our  seamen,  a  proposal  was 

this  day  made  in  each  ship,  for  permission  to  open 

evening  school.  We  most  gladly  entered  into  tlieir 
|ews,  and  gave  orders  for  the  necessary  arrnrgements : 
had  abundance  of  stationary  for  the  writing  scholars, 
|d  there  were  several  elementary  school-books  in  the 
jips  for  learners  lo  read,  while  bibles  were  in  each 

!ss  for  those  who  had  made  some  progress.  Almost 
[ery  man  could  read  and  write  a  little,  but  several 

md  that  from  long  disuse  it  was  requisite  to  begin 


rain. 


I  On  this  afternoon,  we,  for  the  first  time,  witnessed 

beautiful  phenomena  of  a  pair  of  mock  suns ;  they 

ive  situated  on  each  side  of  a  brilliant  halo,  of  which 

sun  was  the  centre,  and  whose  diameter  was  22°  : 

3ir  regular  form  continued  about  half  an  hour,  after 

iich  they  gradually  vanished.     Our  first  play  was 

|rformed  on  the  evening- of  the  9th,  and  appeared  to 

lord  much  amusement  to  the  men :  our  dresses  were 

|od,  and  the  theatre  tolerably  large ;  to  which  may 

added  that  the  ladies  were,  with  the  exceptino  of 

6  * 


66 


OPENIITG  TUB  TR£ATRE. 


*  i*'€ 


n  "i^ 


beards,  figure,  voice,  and  feminine  action,  most  . 
witching  personages.    I  have  given  a  copy  of  the  plaj 
t)ili  for  the  evening. 

THEATRE  ROYAL, 

WINTER  ISLE. 


The  Public  are  most  respectfully  informed  that  this  lim 
yet  elegant^  theatre  will  open  for  the  season^  on  Fridi 
next^  the  9th  of  JSTovember^  1821,  when  will  be  perfoM 
ed  Sheridan'^ s  celebrated  Comedy  of  ' 

THE  RIVALS. 

Sir  Anthony  Absolute     ....     Captain  Parrj. 
Captain  Absolute     ....    Captain  Ly  )n. 

Sir  Lucius  O'Trigger Mr.  Croziel 

Faulidaiid Mr.  Edwards. 

Acres     ....    Mr.  Henderson. 

Fag    .     .     .     Mr.  Hoppner. 
David    .......    Mr.  Reid. 

Coachman    .     .    .     Mr.  Bushnan. 


Mrs.  Malaprop    .     .    .     .    .    .    Mr.  Richards. 

Julia Mr.  Hooper. 

Lydia  Languish    .     .     .    Mr.  Sherer. 
Lucy    .-    .    .    .     .    Mr.  Mog^. 

Songs  by  Messrs.  Palmer  and  Henderson  will  be  inUJ 
duced  in  the  course  of  the  evenin<>* 


Doors  to  be  opened  at  half-past  G,  Curtain  to  rise  at 

precisely. 

The  weather  having  been  for  some  time  very  unsel 
tied,  and  the  temperature  high^  we  feared  some  chanij 
gale  would  send  us  and  our  harbour  ice  out  to 
On  this  day  it  cracked  in  many  places,  and  as  a  pit 
caution,  we  got  anchors  and  cables  on  the  beach.  Whil 
digging  holes  in  which  to  place  our  anchors,  I  obseii 


OBSERTATOXT  ERECTED. 


er 


in  to  rise  atl 


|e<])  that  at  about  two  feet  below  the  surface,  which 
rassoft  and  unfrozen,  we  came  to  hard  ice-bound  gra- 
vel, on  which  it  was  impossible  to  make  any  impression 
rithout  the  aid  of  pick-axes.  As  this  spot  was  far  above 
^he  rise  of  tides,  it  may  be  inferred  that  the  summer's 
Buos  of  ages  have  not  had  the  power  of  thawing  to  a 
rreater  depth  than  i  have  mentioned.  A  large  bird 
[probably  a  crane)  was  seen  by  one  of  the  officers  at  a 
rreat  distance  on  shore,'  and  its  track,  with  that  of 
abundance  of  foxes,  as  if  they  had  been  chasing  it,  was 
observed  on  many  places  in  the  snow.  The  observa- 
bry  was  on  this  day  c::,mp1eted. 

The  morning  of  the  14th  was  rendered  particularly 
iateresting,    by   uncommonly    beautiful    appearances 

|which  attended  the  rising  of  the  sun.  Previous  to  its 
becoming  visible,  a  spiral  ray  of  a  most  delicate  pink 

|hue,  shot  from  the  horizon,  and  increasing  in  size  and 
jrilliancy,  a;  length  reached  the  zenith,  at  which  time 

|it8  form  was  like  that  of  the  flame  produced  by  a  blow- 
)ipe.    On  the  appearance  of  the  sun,  the  whole  east- 

lern  sky  partook  of  the  blush  colour  of  the  first  ray ; 

[and  the  snow,  the  ships,  and  the  whole  of  the  desolate 
surrounding  scenery,  were  warmly  illuminated  until 

Ithe  entire  of  the  sun's  disk  had  risen  above  the  hori> 
!0D,  then  the  usual  grey  tints  assumed  their  accustomed 
)lace,  the  scene  became  doubly  desolate,  and  a  fall  of 
snow  completed  the  contrast  with  the  delightful  vision 

[which  was  past. 

The  unsettled,  comparatively  mild,  and  cloudy  wea- 

ither  now  ceased,  and  a  decided  and  severe  frost,  with 

|a  clear  sky,  gave  us  reason  to  expect  the  winter  in 
jfood  earnest.     The  sea  to  the  eastward  continued  open 

[at  times,  owing  to  the  rapidity  of  the  tides,  and  dove- 
cies  constantly  frequented  the  holes  of  water.  These, 
ind  two  ravens,  furnished  conversation  and  gun-carry- 

[iog  to  all  our  sportsmen.     I  shall  have  occnsion  to 

[mention,  at  times,  an  appearance  which  is  called  frost 
smoke  :  this  Is  only  seen  when  some  space  of  water,  by 

[the  sudden  breaking  or  constant  motion  of  the  ice,  is 

[left  exposed  and  unfrozen;  a  vapour  then,  rises  in 


6flf. 


VOZES. 


fl     H'i 


clouds,  which  floats  Immediately  over  the  open  space, 
like  the  steam  from  a  caldron.  This  freezes  instantly, 
and  being  driven  by  the  wind,  deposes  itself  in  a  finel 
powder  on  the  snr.ounding  ice. 

When  any  great  extent  of  water  is  seen,  the  frostl 
smoke  of  course  is  very  much  increased,  and  entireljp 
hides  the  horizon  from  the  view ;  seldom,  however, 
rising  above  2^  in  altitude,  and  presentiog,  by  its  dusky  I 
gray  clouds,  a  fine  foil  to  the  matchless  blue  of  the  I 
sky  in  frosty  weather. 

On  the  27th  we  exhibited  the  two  farces  of"  Rais-I 
ing  the  Wind^'  and  the  "  Mock  Doctor,^*  with  Phan- 
tasmagoria, the  temperature  at  20°  below  zero  in  thel 
open  air. 

The  cold  was  more  severely  felt  on  the  28th  thanl 
any  other  time  since  entering  winter  quarters,  from 
the  extreme  sharpness  of  the  wind :  several  of  our 
people  were  frost-bitten,  and  a  poor  fox  on  deck  was 
found  to  be  severely  benumbed.  This  animal  was 
considered  as  untameable,  and  would  not  even  agree 
with  two  others  of  his  own  kind,  which  were  also 
prisoners  ;  but  in  his  distress,  on  being  taken  below,  his 
nature  appeared  to  change,  and  he  became  as  tame  as  I 
a  dog,  walking  to  the  different  messes,  and  quietly  tak- 
ing food  from  the  hand  :  the  sudden  change  of  tempera- 
ture, however,  proved  too  much  for  him,  and  before  I 
morning  he  died. 

On  the  1st  of  December  a  grouse  was  seen  astern  I 
of  the  ships,  walking  on  the  snotv,  on  which,  being  of| 
the  purest  white,  his  motion  alone  made  him  visible, 
One  of  our  people,  walking  to  the  eastward  to  try  and  I 
shoot  dovekies,  observed  several,  of  these  birds  near 
him,  in  the  tide-way ;  they   appeared  quite  fearless,] 
and  allowed  him  to  approach  very  near,  when  sudden- 
ly, a  fox  was  observed  stealing  towards  them,  and  thel 
whole  flock  rose  with  loud  cries  of  alarm      From  its 
having  been   ascertained  that  the  foxes  catch   these 
birds  (parts  of  their  feathers,  and  in  one  instance  a 
whole  wing,  being  found  in  the  stomachs  of  several,] 
it  becomes  an  interesting  question  how  they  can  get 


HABE  KILLED. 


69 


them.     The  temperature    would  prevent  a  fox 

rom  swimming,  and  it  is  a  known  fact,  that  dovekiei 

\re  very  rarely,  even  in  mild  weather,  seen  out  of  the 

rater. 

A  whale  was  seen  to  the  S.  E.,  and  seals  frequently 

ose  in   the   open  water.    Our  walking  parties   fre- 

luently  found   traces  of  a  hare,  which  on  the   13th 

Us  killed :  the  animal  was  miserably  poor,  weighing 

\n\y  5  lb.  15  oz.,  and  having  nothing  in   its  stomach. 

jlxcepting   the   usual  black  tips  to  the   ears,   it   was 

luite  white,  and  its  fur  resembled  swans-down  rather 

lan  hair.     It  was  a  matter  of  wonder  to  us  how   this 

|reature  could  have  escaped  the  large  packs  of  foxes 

irhich  were  constantly  hunting  during  the  night,  and 

rhose  tracks  absolutely  covered  the   place   where  it 

ras  shot.     Above  sixty   foxes   had  now    been   taken, 

[nd  yet   there  seemed  but  little   diminution   in  their 

lumbers. 

On  the  17th  a  shivering  set  of  actors  performed  to  a 
[reat-coated,  yet  very   cold,  audience,   the  comedy  of 
le  "  Poor  Gentleman." 

We  were    much   amused   during  the    exhibition  of 

lis  play  by   a  burst  of  true   English   feeling.     In  the 

cene  where  Lieut.   Worthinjfton  and  Corpl.  Foss  re- 

lonnt  in  so  animated  a  manner  their  former  achieve- 

lents,  advancing  at  the'  same  time,  and  huzzaing  for 

Old  England ;''  the  whole   audience,   with    one   ac- 

lurd,  rose,  and  gave  three  of  the   heartiest  cheers  I 

Iver  beard.     They  then  sat  down,  and  the  play  con- 

)nued  uuihterrupted. 

A  bear  was  seen  on  the  afternoon  of  the  ^Oth,  at 

Ibout  a  mile    from  the  ships,  to  which  he  was  cau- 

)ously  walking,  smelling  as  he  advanced.     The  wam- 

Qg  signal  was  hoisted  to  parties  on  shore,  and  I  ac- 

jompanied  several  others  in  chase  of  him;  but  after  a 

)08t  fatiguing  run  to  no  purpose,  he  cantered  off  with 

ie  speed  of  a  horse,  and  making  for  the  moving  ice 

the  inlet,  was  soon  lost  sight  of  in  the  frost  smoke. 

h  his  foot-marks,  we  judged  that  he  could  not  have 

ken  very  lai^e,  the  hind  paw  measuring  14  inches  by 


70 


CBSIITMAS. 


1 


m 


mm 


7,  and  the  fore  one  7^  inches  each  way.  The  shape 
of  a  bear-track  is  curious,  as  resembling  that  of] 
man,  were  it  not  for  the  too  plainly  marked  toe-naiU 
which  make  deep  dents  in  the  snow. 

December  22ncl,  our  shortest  day,  was  extremely 
fine,  and  the  sun  rose  to  37'  above  the  horizon,  giving 
us  three  hours  daylight,  at  least  sufficiently  clear  tol 
allow  of  our  taking  a  long  walk.  How  great  the  difJ 
ference  between  this  place  and  Melville  island,  whcreJ 
for  ninety  days,  the  sun  was  not  seen  !  Comfortless  a| 
an  arctic  winter  certainly  is,  yet  it  has  degrees 
wretchedness,  amongst  which  the  absence  of  light  \i 
the  most  severely  felt.  This  winter,  however,  vre 
were  blessed  by  the  daily  appearance  of  the  sun,  al| 
though  it  was  powerless  as  to  warmth. 

On  Christmas  eve,  in  order  to  keep  the  people! 
quiet  and  sober,  we  performed  two  farces,  and  exJ 
hibited  Phantasmagoria,  so  that  the  night  passed  merl 
rily  away. 

Christmas  day  was  very  fine,  and  we  all  attended 
church  on  board  the  Fury,  as  we  had  been  accustomed 
to  do  evci^y  Sunday  since  we  were  frozen  in.     Thd 
people  then  returned  to  their  dinners,  at  which  Ed 
glish  roast  beef,  that  had  been  kept  untainted  since  tb([ 
transport  left  us,  was  the  principal  luxury.     To  thii 
were   added   cranberry    pies  and  puddings   of  ever 
shape  and  size,  with  full  allowance  of  spirits.     1  neveil 
indeed  saw  more  general  good  humour  and  merrimenj 
on  a  Christmas  day  since  i  went  to  sea.     A  prett][ 
compliment  was  paid  to  all  the  officers  by  a  well  mean 
ing,  but  certainly  not  very  sober  crew,  by  absoluteljl 
forcing  each  in  his  turn,  beginning  with  myself,  to  g(| 
out  on  the  lower  deck,  and  have  his  health  drank  wit! 
three  hearty  cheers. 

On  the  26th,  we  sent  all  the  people  for  a  run  on  tl 
ice,  in  order  to  put  them  to  rights,  but  thick  weatbe 
coming  on,  it  became  necessary  to  recall  them,  and 
postponing  the  dinner  hour,  they  were  all  danceij 
sober  by  1  p.  m.  the  fiddler  being,  fortunately,  quiti 
u  be  shoald  be.    Dqriog  this  curious  bail,  a  mWi 


AUBOBA. 


71 


tllow  attendecl  as  an  old  cake  woman,  'with  lampi  of 
rozen  inow  in  a  bucliet  ;  and  such  wai  the  demand 
)r  his  pies  on  this  occasion,  that  he  was  obliged  to 
ipleoisb  pretty  frequently.  At  night  we  were  all 
^uch  startled  by  an  account  of  a  bear  being  seen  be- 
^eeo  the  ships,  and  arms  were  prepared  in  conse- 
leoce,  but  the  return  of  daylight  gave  us  no  traces  of 
im. 

We  had  now  reached  the  end  of  our  first  year,  with- 
it  having  experienced   any  weighty  difficulties,  and 
)tb  officers  and  men  enjoyed   excellent  health.     A 
)od  footing  had   been   established  on   the   coast  of 
forth  America,  from  which  we  could  again  proceed 
the  summer,  and  we  were  blessed  with  spirits  and 
io\  for  the    renewal  of  our  exertions.     No  signs  of 
^urvy,  the  usual  plague  of  such  voyages  as  ours,  bad 
ccurred ;  and,  owing  to  a  plan  of  Captain  Parry's, 
|e  had  been  in  the  practice  of  raising  a  sufficiency  of 
War<l  and  cress  between  decks  to  afford  all  hands 
salad  once,  and  sometimes  twice,  a   week.     Our 
jeo  had  taken  the  greatest  pleasure  in  their  school, 
(hich  might  in  some  measure  be  attributed  to  their 
iving  had  the  management  of  it  in  their  own  hands, 
['here  was  not  a  man  in  the  ship  who  could  not,  by 
^is  time,  read  and  write,  and  on  Christmas  day  I  re- 
vived sixteen  copies  from  those  who,  two  months  be- 
kre,  scarcely  knew  their  letters.    These  little  spe- 
imens  were  all  well  written,  and  sent  with  as  much 
ride,  as  if  the  writers  had  been  good  little  school- 
oys,  instead  of  stout  and  excellent  seamen. 
As  we  now  had  seen  the  darkest,  although  not  by 
^aay  degrees  the  coldest  season  of  the  year,  it  may 
ot  here  be  irrelevant  to  mention  the  beautiful  ap- 
iarance  of  the  sky  at  this  period.     To  describe  the 
ilours  of  these  cloudless  heavens  would  be  impossi- 
ie;  but  the   delicacy   and   pureness   of  the   various 
leaded  tints  excelled  any  thing  I  ever  saw,  even  in 
laly.    The  sun  shines  with  a  diminished   lustre,  so 
lat  it  is  possible  to  contemplate  it  without  a  painful 
beling  to  the  eyes,  yet  the  blush  colour,  which  in 


1^' 


:l 


ill' 


72 


AVROBA* 


i  ■  im 


'  111 


.''M 


it.is;'' 


severe  frost  always  accompanies  it,  is,  in  my  opiniool 
far  more  pleasing  than  the  glittering  borders  which  arel 
so  profusely  seen  on  the  clouds  in  warmer  climatesj 
The  nightB  are  no  less  lovely,  in  consequence  of  thel 
clearness  of  the  sky.     The  moon  and  stars  shine  witM 
wonderful  lustre,  and  almost  persuade  one  to  be  pleas-l 
ed    with   the    surrounding    desolation.      The    auroriT 
borealis   does   not    appear  affected   by  the    briiliaricjl 
even  of  the  full  moon,  but  its  light  continues  still  thel 
same.     The   first  appearance    of  this  phenomenon  isT 
generally  in  shotvers  of  falling  rays,  like  those  throW 
from  a  rocket,  although  not  so  bright.     These  bein^ 
in  constant  and  agitated  motion,  have  the  appearand 
of  trickling  down  the  sky.     Large  masses  of  light  suc> 
ceeded  next  in  order,  alternating  from  a  faint  glow  re-| 
sembling   the    milky  way,  to  the  most  vivid  flashesJ 
which  stream  and  shoot  in  every  direction  with  thel 
effect  of  sheet  lightnmg,  except  that  after  the  flasbj 
the   aurora   still   continues  to  be  seen.     The  suddeDl 
glare  and  rapid  bursts  of  these  wondrous  showers  of 
fire,  render  it   impossible   to  observe  them,  withou| 
fancying   that   they  produce  a  rushing  sound  ;   but 
am   confident  that  there  is  no  actual  noise  attendinjl 
the  changes,  and  that  the  idea  is   erroneous.      1  frel 
quently  stood  for  hours  together  on  the  ice,  to  ascerJ 
tain   this  fact,  at  a   distance  from   any  noise    but  mi 
own  breathing,  and  thus  I  formed  my  opinion.     Nei-j 
ther  did  I  observe  any  variety  of  colour  in  the  flashesJ 
which  were  to  my  eye  always  of  the  same  shade  as| 
the  milky  way,  and  vivid  sheet  lightning.     The  star 
which   gleam    through   the    aurora  certainly   emit  al 
milder  ray,  as  if  a  curtain  of  the  finest  gauze  were  in| 
terposed.     ft  is  remarkable  that  whenever  the  weaJ 
ther  is  calm,   the  aurora  has  a  tendency  to  form  aDi 
arch,  at  whatever  position  it  may  occupy  in  the  hea-j 
vens.     On  the  29th  of  this  month  we  were  particul 
larly  gratified  by  a  beautiful  exhibition  of  this  kmd  ntl 
near   midnight.      A  perfect   arch  was  formed  to   th«! 
southward,  stretching   from  east  to   west ;  its   centre! 
elevated  about  two  degrees  above  the  horizon.    Thel 


NEW  TEAR. 


7$ 


light  was  serene  and  dark,  which  added  considerably 
to  its  effect,  and  the  appearance  continued  unchanged 
for  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  ;  but  on  a  slight  breeze 
springing   up,  small  rays  shot  occasionally  to  the  ze- 
uth,  and  the  arch  became  agitated  with  a  gentle  and 
indulating  motion,  after  which  it  spread  irregularly, 
and  separating  into  the  usual  streamers,  soon  diffused 
jtself  over  the    whole  sky.      In  stormy  weather  the 
northern  lights  fly  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning,  and 
ntb  a  corresponding  wildness  to  the   gale  which  is 
i)lowing,  giving  an  indescribable  air  of  magic  to  the 
[ivhoie  scene. 

1  have  never  contemplated  the  aurora  without  ex- 
)eriencing  the  most  awful  sensations,  and  can  readily 
sscuse  the  poor  untutored  Indians  for  supposing  that 
[d  the  restless  motions  of  the  northern  lights  they  be- 
lold  the  spirits  of  their  fathers  roaming  in  freedom 
[brough  the  laud  o*f  souls. 

;v    .  A.  D.  1822. 

The  commencement  of  a  new  year  has  always  a 
fieeling  of  pleasure  attached  to  it,  whatever  may  be 
our  pursuits,  and  although  the  1st  of  January  was  not 
[ess  solitary  than  other  wintry  days,  yet  we  formed 
ittle  parties  of  castle-builders,  in  order  to  cut  outwork 
Tor  the  summer,  as  if,  instead  of  being  many  months 
)istant,  it  was  to  arrive  on  the  morrow. 

On  the  2nd  I  saw  the  first  whirlwind  which  had  been 
|)bserved  in  this  country.  It  came  from  the  westward 
bver  the  flat  ice,  passed  near  our  stern,  and  finally  dis- 
Ippeared  round  Cape  Fisher.  The  circumference  of 
the  column  of  loose  snow  which  was  drawn  into  the 
rortex  of  the  whirlwind  was  at  first  very  inconsidera- 
ble, but  increasing  rapidly  it  assumed  the  appearance 
|>f  a  small  water  spout.  It  was  to  be  regretted  that  it 
)assed  astern,  instead  of  over  the  ships,  as  it  would 
[hen  have  given  us  some  idea  of  its  powers. 

Foxes,  and  another  solitary  hare,  which  had  been 
fwice  fired  at  while  seeking  food  alongside  the  Fury^, 
j^vere  the  only  animated  objects  which  had  for  some 
7 


^;f 


M 


1  '. 


•     A 


ARCTIC  FOX. 


-'■''■mi 


ip|| 


time  occupied  our  attention.  Above  one  hundred  o 
the  former  had  been  at  various  times  entrapped  or  I 
killed,  and  several  were  kept  as  pets  in  each  ship.  0[| 
those  in  the  Hecla  I  had  attentively  observed  the  ha-j 
bits,  and  shall  o£fer  a  few  remarks  on  them,  with  thel 
intention  of  somewhat  relieving  the  stupidity  and  mol 
notony  which  will  be  found  in  my  journal^  even  by  mj| 
own  partial  family. 

In  form,  the  arctic  fox  bears  great  resemblance  tol 
our  European  species,  although  considerably  smaller,! 
and  owing  to  the  great  quantity  of  white  woolly  haiti 
with  which  it  is  clothed,  is  somewhat  like  a  little  shockl 
dog.  The  brush  is  full  and  large,  affording  an  admira-[ 
ble  covering  for  the  nose  and  feet,  to  which  it  acts  asl 
a  muff  when  the  animal  sleeps.  Although  the  head  isl 
not  so  pointed  as  in  our  English  reynard,  yet  it  has  as| 
completely  the  air  of  cunning  which  is  so  observable 
in  all  species  of  foxes.  The  eyes  are  bright,  piercing! 
and  of  a  clear  light  hazel.  The  face  of  the  femalel 
was  always  remarked  to  be  shorter  than  that  of  th<[ 
male,  and  it  has  less  of  cunning  and  more  of  mildoes 
in  its  general  expression.  The  ears  are  short,  ani| 
thickly  .covered  with  hair,  having  the  appearance  oil 
being  doubled  at  the  edges,  or  rather  of  having  beesj 
cut  in  the  manner  that  tender-hearted  people  cropf 
their  terriers.  The  cheeks  are  ornamented  by  a  pro! 
jecting  ruff,  which  extends  from  behind  the  ears  quit«| 
round  the  lower  part  of  the  face,  to  which  it  gives 
verj  ^(leasing  appearance. 

Thr  i^gs  are  rather  long  than  otherwise,  and  shon 
great  -length  of  muscle.  The  feet,  which  are  largeJ 
are  armed  with  strong  claws.  When  the  animal  isf 
standing  still,  the  hind  lege  are  so  placed  as  to  give  tba 
idea  of  weakness  in  the  loins,  which  is  certainly  not  tba 
case,  as  few  creatures  can  make  more  powerful  leaps 
The  general  weight  was  about  eight  pounds,  althougU 
some  were  as  low  as  seven,  and  a  few  as  high  as  nioij 
pounds  and  a  half  when  in  good  case. 

The  arctic  fox  is  an  extremely  cleanly  animal,  bein 
very  careful  not  to  dirt  those  places  in  which  he  eati 


ARCTIC  rox. 


75 


lor  sleeps.      No  unpleasant  smell  is  to  be  perceived, 
leven  in  a  male,  which  is  a  remarkable  circumstance, 
iTo  come  unawares  on  one  of  these  creatures  is,  in  my 
Icpinion,  impossible ;    for  even  when  in  an  apparently 
sound  sleep,  they  open  their  eyes  at  the  slightest  noise 
irhich  is  made  near  them,  although  they  pay  no  atten- 
tion to  sounds  at  a  short  distance.      The  general  time 
)f  rest  is  during  the  daylight,  in  which  they  appear 
listless  and  inactive ;  but  the  night  no  sooner  sets  in, 
than  all  their  faculties  are  awakened  ;  they  commence 
their  gambols,  and  continue  in  unceasing  and  rapid  mo- 
tion until  the  morning.     While  huntmg  for  food  they 
jre  mute,  but  when  in  captivity  or  irritated,  they  uttor 
short  growl  like  that  of  a  young  puppy.      It  is  a  sin- 
jular  fact,  that  their  bark  is  so  modulated  as  to  give  an 
|dea  that  the  animal  is  at  a  distance,  although  at  tlie 
irery  moment  he  lies  at  your  feet,     it  strikes  me   that 
lature  haS  gifted  these  creatures  with  this  kind  of  ven- 
jtriioquism  in  order  to  deceive  their  prey  as  to  the  dis- 
tance they  are  from  them.      Although  the  rage  of  a 
lewly  caught  fox  is  qu.te  ungovernable,  yet  it  very 
rarely  happened  that  on  two  being  put  toge+J-er,  they 
luarrelled.     A  confinement  of  even  ;•  izw  hours  often 
Sufficed  to  quiet  these  creatures;  and  some  instances 
3ccurred  of  their  being  perfectly  tame,  s  •M>ough  timid, 
["rem  the  first  moment  of  theii"  captivity.  On  the  other 
land  there   were  some,  which,  after  months  of  coax- 
ing, never  became  more   tractable.      These,  we  sup- 
)osed,  were  old  ones. 

Their  first  impulse  on  receiving  food  is  to  hide  it  as 
koon  as  possible,  even  though  suffering  from  hunger, 
knd  having  no  fellow-prisoners  of  whose  honesty  they 
lire  doubtful.  In  this  case  snow  is  of  great  assistance, 
ks  being  easily  piled  over  their  stores,  and  then  forcibly 
pressed  down  by  the  nose.  I  frequendy  observed  my 
Jog-fox,  when  no  snow  was  obtainable,  gather  his 
khain  into  his  mouth,  and  in  that  manner  carefully  coil 
|t  seas  to  hide  the  meat.  On  moving  away,  satisfied 
cith  his  operations,  he  of  course  has  drawn  it  after  him 
^gain.  and  sometimes  with  great  patience  repeated  b»«^ 


76 


'UriNE  VROZEN. 


M 


Hi    . 


1 

j' 

;           IfI 

labours  five  or  six  times,  until,  in  a  passion,  he  1 
been  constrained  to  eat  his  food  without  its  having  beeol 
rendered  luxuriant  by  previous  concealment.  Snow  ill 
the  substitute  for  water  to  these  creatures,  and  on  al 
(arge  lump  being  given  to  them,  they  break  it  inl 
pieces  with  their  feet,  and  roll  on  it  with  great  delightj 
When  the  snow  was  slightly  scattered  on  the  decks,! 
they  did  not  lick  it  up  as  dogs  are  accustomed  to  dol 
but  by  repeatedly  pressing  with  their  nose,  collected  al 
small  lump  at  its  extremity,  and  then  drew  it  into  tht| 
mouth,  with  the  assistance  of  the  tongue. 

On  the  8fh  a  hare  was  killed  while  seeking  food  oil 
oui  dirt  heap.  It  was  very  thin,  and  weighed  Tiki 
On  dissection  it  was  discovered  that  the  leaves  of  thi 
herb-tea  which  was  served  out  to  our  people,  had  beeij 
the  cause  of  its  frequent  visits  alongside. 

The  coldness  of  the  weather  proved  no  bar  to  th^ 
performance  of  a  play  at  the  appointed  time.  If  ii 
amused  the  seamen,  our  .rarposes  were  answered,  buj 
it  was  a  cruel  task  for  the  performers.  In  our  green 
room,  which  was  as  much  warmed  as  any  other  parti 
the  theatre,  the  thermometer  stood  at  16°,  and  on  ata 
ble  which  was  placed  over  a  stove,  and  about  six  inchej 
above  it,  the  coffee  froze  in  the  cups.  For  my  sins! 
was  oblij^^ed  to  be  dressed  in  the  height  of  the  fashion 
as  Dick  Dowlass,  in  the  "  Heir  at  Law,"  and  weu 
through  the  last  scene  of  the  play  with  two  of  my  tin 
gers  frost-bitten  !  Let  those  who  have  witnessed  and  ad 
mired  the  performances  of  a  Young,  answer  if  hj 
could  possibly  have  stood  so  cold  a  reception. 

About  this  time  we  discovered  that  much  of  our  win' 
was  frozen,  and  Captain  Parry  sent  a  bottle  of  port  foj 
my  inspection  :  it  was  congealed  in  thin  pink  lamina 
which  lay  loosely  and  occupied  the  whole  length  ( 
the  bottle.  The  ice  was  almost  tasteless;  but,  if  anj 
thing,  of  a  sweet  flavour.  White  wine,  on  the  codT 
trary,  froze  into  a  solid  and  perfectly  transparent  maij 
resembling  amber. 

The  tracks  of  a  small  animal  had  been  for  two  or  thre 
days  found  on  the  snow  piled  against  the  stern,  an 


ERMlirE  CAtJGHT   OX  BOARD. 


77 


OD  this  morning  he  jumped  from  out  a  heap  of  small 
[sails  stofved  abaft.  Those  who  saw  the  creature  had 
50  many  different  opinions  of  its  size  and  colour,  that 
10  rational  conjectures  could  be  formed  of  its  nature  ; 
lost  voices,  however,  declared  it  to  be  brown.  In 
^he  night  my  servant  caught  it  in  a  small  trnp  placed 
)n  deck ;  and  on  examining  our  captive,  ^^  io  !  Hwas 
^bite,"  and  a  very  beautiful  ermine.  1  had  soon  a 
^onvenieni.  cage  made  for  perhaps  the  first  of  these 
jinimals,  whict  was  ever  caught  on  board  a  ship  400 
irards  from  the  land.  He  was  a  fierce  little  fellow,  and 
|he  instant  he  obtained  daylight  in  his  new  dweliing, 
he  flew  at  the  bars,  and  shook  them  with  the  greatest 
[liry,  uttering  a  very  shrill  passionate  cry,  and  emitting 
le  strong  musky  smelt  which  I  formerly  noticed  No 
ireats  or  teazing  could  induce  him  to  retire  to  the 
jeeping-place,  -and  whenever  he  did  so  of  his  own 
[ccord,  the  slightest  rubbing  on  the  bars  was  sufficient 
bring  him  out  to  the  attack  of  his  tormentors.  He 
)0Q  took  food  from  the  hand,  but  not  until  he  had 
|rst  used  every  exertion  to  reach  an  i  bite  the  fingers 
|hich  conveyed  it.  This  boldness  gave  me  great 
(opes  of  being  able  to  keep  ruy  little  captive  alive 
irough  the  winter,  but  he  was  killed  by  an  accident 
a  few  days. 

On  the  22d  our  usual  theatricals  took  place.  Tem- 
jrature  in  the  air  22*^  below  zero,  but  not  much  felt, 
consequence  of  the  calmness  of  the  night. 
The  cold  having  been  gradually  increasing,  we 
fpected  that  the  ice  to  the  eastward  -vould  soon  be 
[lite  stationary ;  but  on  this  day,  to  our  surprize,  it 
fecame  detached  across  the  mouth  of  our  little  bay,  so 
jat  we  had  open  water  at  350  yards  astern  of  the 
lips. 

]A  whale  was  seen  to  the  southward,  at  a  great 
jstance,  and  seals  and  dovekies  near  the  shore. 
jOn  the  morning  of  the  27th,  just  before  church,  our 
jrpenter  came  on  board  from  a  walk  round  the  iS.  E. 
|int,  and  reported  having  seen  a  bear  in  that  direc- 
|D,  at  the  distance  of  500  yards  from  him,  and  advanc 


h 


u 


ABBIVAXi  OF  E8KIMAUX. 


ipg  aloog  a  young  field  of  ice  to  the  place  on  which  he  I 
stood.    The  weather  heing  squally,  a  most  fortunate! 
shower  of  snow,  assisted  by  the  frost  acooke,  hid  Bruisl 
for  a  few  jpoments,  during  which  Mr.  Pulfer  vem 
wisely  made  his  retreat,  fearing  that  the  next  cleatl 
moment  might  show  the  stranger  at  a  less  agrees  i>le| 
distance.     This  being  the  second  bear  we  had  see/ 
since  the  setting  in  of  the  cold,  affords  a  most  intel 
resting  proof  that  these  animals  do  not,  in  all  ca^iesj 
remain  in  a  torpid  state  during  the  winter.     Indee 
such  stories  of  their  sleeping,  as  1  have  met  witbj 
seem  so  ill  attested,  that  I  doubt  the  truth  of  them, 
least  as  far  as  respects  the  Polar  bear,  an  animal  froQ 
which  naturalists  have  ever  been  too  far  removed  tij 
allow  of  their  giving  an  opinion  about  it.     The  brom 
or  North  American  bear,  may  perhaps  be  differeu 
from  the  white  one,  as  it  varies  so  much  from  it  \\ 
Itiabits.     The  thermometer  was  at  this  time  35"^  beloif 
zero,  yet  the  animal  above-mentioned  was  evidentlj 
deriving  his  subsistence  from  the  sea,  in  which  m 
.bserved,  almost  daily,  some  seals  to  make  their  appeaif 
ance.      These  creatures  form  the  principal  food 
bears  in  the  summer  season.     In  the  winter,  all  anima 
in  this  country  must  suffer  great  privations.     Asj 
pr(  of  of  what  foxes  wiU  eat  to  satisfy  hunger,  I  mal 
mention  hav.ng  examined  the  stomach  of  one  yim^ 
contained  a  mass  of  rope  yarns,  and  hne,  of  the  size  i 
the  doubled  fist ;  amongst  which  seme  pieces  of  siQDi| 
or  plaited  stuff,  were  above  six  inches  in  length  ! 


''  4  .liilii 


ARRIVAL  OF  THE  ESKIMAUX. 

An  unexpected  and  must  welcome  break  in  the  tedini 
of  our  winter's  confinement  was  announced  on 
mo^'ning  of  the  Ist  of  February,  by  a  cry  of  FsM 
niBUX !   Eskimaux !   from   some  of  our   people,  tvlj 
were  taking  their  sohtary  diurnal  walk  on  deck, 
we  saw  a  large  troop  of  strangers  coming  over  the  il 
from  the  westward,  and  occasfonally  heard  them 
up  a  loud  shout. 


E8KIMAUX. 


Wf 


I  accompaDied  Captain  Parry  to  meet  them,  our 
[party  consisting  of  six ;  we  walked  behind  each  other 
|ia  order  to  make  our  number  appear  small,  lest  the 
■natives  should  be  alarmed  ;  and  soon  saw  them  make  a 
[halt  and  form  into  a  line,  in  which  position  they  stood 
luDtil  we  joined  them.     They  were  ail  unarmed,  and 
[silently  saluted  us  by  stroking  their  breasts,  which  we 
[did  nut  fail  to  imitate.     The  party  consisted  of  twenty- 
one  men,  two  very  old  women,  and  two  children ;  one 
man  was  so  aged  and  weak,  as  to  be  obliged  to  support 
{himself  on  %  titaff,  and  at  length,  from  weariness,  sat 
down  with  an  old  woman,  his  wife,  on  the  ice.     We 
I  distributed  bead&'  and  trinkets  to  all,  but  our  presents 
were  received  with  so  vacant  a  stare,  that  it  was  plain 
the  donors  excited  more  wonder  than  their  gifHs.     As 
the  strangers  had  brought  several  skins  and  blades  of 
whalebone,  we    bartered  for  these    and   their  ivory 
knives,  which  soon  conquered  their  fears,  and  we  all 
became  very  good  friends.     On  a  jacket  being  pur- 
chased, we  found  a  piece  of  European  worsted  lace 
within  it,  and  soon  observed  that  several  men  wore  a 
small  bracelet  of  beads,  which  circumstances  excited 
great  interest,  as  showing  that   by  some   means  or 
other,  they  must  have  been  rec-'ived  from  our  facto- 
ries.    We  gladly  accepted  an  invitation  to  the  huts, 
and  at  the  desire  of  the  natives  we  preceded  them  in 
the  path,  but  for  what  reason  I  know  not.     A  walk  of 
two  miles  brought  us  to  the  huts,  situated  on  a  shelving 
beach,  which  commanded  a  full  view  of  the  ships, 
from  whence  we  must  have  easily  seen  the  Eskimaux, 
had  they  arrived  prior  to  the  preceding  evening. 

Some  men  now  ran  before  us  to  apprize  the  inmates 
of  our  arrival,  and  we  were  then  led  into  the  first 
dwelling,  where  we  found  six  families  silently  awaiting 
our  visit,  the  women  and  children  sitting  with  their 
legs  doubled  under  them,  behind  the  men,  who  sat  on 
the  edge  of  their  sleeping-places.  A  distribution  of 
ornamtnts  being  made  to  the  ladies^  we  were  soon 
established  on  a  good  footing,  and  visited  each  hut  in 
its  turn.    Our  astonishment  was  unbounded,  when,  after 


80 


ESKIMAUX. 


creeping  through  some  long  low  passages  of  snow,  tol 
enter  the  different  dwellings,  we  found  ourselves  in  jl 
cluster  of  dome-shaped  edifices,  entirely  constructed  olf 
snow,  which,  from  their  recent  erection,  had  not  beeDl 
sullied  by  the  smoke  of  the  numerous  lamps  that  wertl 
hurning^  but  admitted  the  light  in  most  delicate  hueil 
of  verdigris  green  and  blue,  according  to  the  thicknesil 
of  the  slab  through  which  it  passed.     The  nativesi 
were  evidently  in  their  best   apparel,   and    made  !i| 
very  neat  appearance  ;  the  darkness  of  their  deer-skial 
dresses  affording  a  strong  contrast  to  ih»  brilliancy  of 
their  habitations.     To  attempt  giving  a  description  ofl 
all  we  saw  in  one  visit  would  be  ridiculous ;  suffice  ill 
to  say,  we  were  inuch  pleased,  and  determined  ool 
spending  the  ensuing  day  with  our  new  friends,  oil 
whom  about  fifty  persons  of  both  sexes  accompaniedl 
us  on  board,  and  we  were  now  as  familiar  as  old 
acquaintances.     As  we  walked  1  assisted  in  singing  to| 
them  some  songs  and  chorusses,  and  met  with  unbound- 
ed applause,  in  such  ditties  especially  as  terminated  in  I 
"  Tol  de  riddle   loll,"  which  never  failed  to  excite 
loud  screams  of  admiration,  and  a  vast  deal  of  jumping. 
Our  harmony  at  length  aroused  the  ambition  of  the 
ladies,  three  of  whom,  whose  liveliness  belied  their 
appearance,  which  was  that  of  age  and  ugliness,  com- 
menced an  extraordinary  and  most  monotonous  ditty,  I 
in  which  we  joined.    Dancing  was  occasionally  intro- 
duced as  a  change  of  amusement,  and  in  this  manner 
we  arrived  most  merrily  on  board. 

The  strangers  walked  in  a  quiet  and  orderly  manner 
about  the  upper  deck,  but  could  not  avoid  occasionally 
giving  vent  to  their  admiration,  by  those  indescribable 
screams  which  had  already  so  much  amused  us.  Order, 
however,  did  not  long  continue,  for  the  natives  met 
our  seamen  more  than  half-way  in  frolic ;  and  in  a 
short  time,  with  the  assistance  of  a  fiddle  and  drum. 
every  leg  was  in  motion,  our  people  assisting,  in  no 
slight  degree,  In  the  general  shouting  and  yells.  Our 
music  attracted  the  Fury's  proportion  of  visitors,  and 
we   soon  had  the  ship  fulL     Some  old  womeD  sang  to 


BSKIMAVX. 


81 


:ing,  m  no 


Ifferent  groupes  which  assembled   round  them*  and 
then  danced,  or  rather  jumped,  with  so  much  spirit, 

to  bathe  themselves  in  perspiration. 

An  old  man,  whose  appearance  was  much  in  his 
ivour,  accompanied  me  to  my  cabin,  where  he  be- 

ived  with  great  decorum,  and  neither  asked  for  nor 

[pected  a  present.  A  small  hand-organ  afforded  him 
:Very  great  treat,  and  he  listened  to  it  with  such  an 
Ixpression  of  pleasure  on  his  countenance,  as  would 

shown  by  a  lover  of  music  on  hearing  the  perfor- 
mance of  an  orchestra  ;  breathing  gently,  making  no 

)ise,  and  unconsciously  opening  his  mouth.  A  musical 
luif-box  succeeded  this  instrument,  Hud  underwent  a 
lery  strict  examination ;  during  which,  my  visitor  re- 
jeatedly  uttered  a  faint  but  highly  expresstve  cry  of 
lleasure.  Drawings  of  the  Eskimaux,  in  Hudsoi^^s 
Itrait,  surprised  him  much,  but  he  immediately  under- 
lood  them,  and  pointed  out  many  parts  of  their  dress 
rhich  differed  from  that  of  his  own  tribe. 

The  sketch  of  a  bear  we  had  killed  in  the  summer 
ras  hailed  by  a  loud  outcry,  and  he  iustantly  uucover- 
|d  bis  arm  to  show  three  very  extensive  wounds 
lade  by  one  of  these  animals,  which  he  had  killed. 
?he  name  of  my  new  acquaintance  was  "]Sak-k&- 
jhioo,"  or  "  Bladder,"  but  this  was  soon  changed  by 
|ur  people  to  that  of  ^^  Kettle,"  in  consequence  uf  my 
laving  given  him  a  brass  one. 

The  sailors  very  soon  discovered  that  the  natives 

lould  do.  ^^  any  thing  in  the  world,"  and  amongst  other 

[ccomplisbments  were  convinced  that  they  could  chew 

)bacco;  but  when  I  saw  several  of  them  swallowing 

[ery  large  pieces  of  i%  1  thought  proper  to  put  a  stop 

so  cruel  a  joke,*  They  all  endeavoured  to  smoke, 
ht  none  succeeded  in  drinking  grog  except  a  poor 
^Id  woman,  who  was  very  ttursty  in  consequence  of 

*  This  reminded  me  of  the  alarm  created  by  a  similar  frolic  of 
pooke's  people,  at  the  Sandwich  Islands.  The  sufferer  there  fan- 
ned himseU  poisoned.  As  for  the  Eskimaux,  I  could  not  learn,  on 
ne  following  day,  that  the  tobacco  had  caused  any  unpleasant 
belings  to  their  well-oiled  stomachs. 


m 


M 


DESCBIPTION  or   TIIC 


1  i''||i 


having  danced  and  sang  without  intermission,  for  above  [ 
ti70  hours.     Bread  was  v  k^\\  received,  and  a  mess  ot 
train«oil  and  bread-dust  <. as  mixed  up  in  a  tin-pot  for 
one  very  hungry  man,  who  scooped  it  up  with  the  tip 
of  his  tongue :  not  being  greedy,  however,  he  called 
his  wife  and  daughter,  when  they,  with  the  same  in[ 
struments,  assisted   him  very  riadily,  each   taking  jl 
lick  in  turn.     The  grog-drink'       f)id  woman  was  treatf 
ed  with  the  half  of  a  frozen  a      uncleaned  fox,  whicli| 
she  greedily  attacked,  thawing  it   by  repeated  lickin 
and  sucking  with  her  tongue.     During  the  stay  of  thtl 
Eskimaux,  persons  were  stationed  to   ivatch  that  thejl 
stole  nothing,  but  never  were  such  precautions  lessl 
necessary,  the  most  perfect  and  natural  honesty  beingi 
evident  in  all  their  actions.     As  yet  the  word  Pille-taTl 
(give  me)  had  not  been  heard,  and  whatever  present)! 
were   made,  met  with   a  grateful   reception,  and  the| 
accustomed  licking  with  the  tongue. 

Soon  after  the  Cskimaux  had  appeared  in  the  forel 
noon,  a  pack  of  thirteen  wolves  Tthe  first  we  had  yell 
seen)  passed  a.stern  of  the  ships,  and  went  round  thel 
S.E.  point :  at  night  they  came  alongside  several! 
times,  and  were  repeatedly  fired  at,  but  without  effect! 
From  this  being  their  first  visit,  it  would  appear  thatl 
they  had  followed  the  Eskimaux,  and  were,  in  some! 
measure,  dependent  on  them  for  subsistence.  1  had  odI 
this  day  purchased  the  skin  of  one,  which  appeared  as| 
if  very  recently  killed. 

At  an  early  hour  on  the  2nd,  I  accompanied  Captaiii| 
Parry  and  several  officers  to  pass  the  day  at  the  huts; 
on  nearing  which,  we  observed  all  the  male  inhabi-[ 
tanti?  to  come  out  and  range  themselves  in  a  line  tol 

'  receive  us,  stroking  their  breasts,  and  bidding, us  we!*' 
come  as  at  the  first  interview.  Each  then  retired  to! 
his  proper  dwelling  in  order  to  receive  our  visit8,[ 
with  the  same  quiet  and  respectful  compliments  as  od| 
the  preceding  day. 

We   now  found   that  the  beautiful  transparent  ap-l 

.   pearance  of  the  interior  of  the  huts  bad  almost  ceased, 
the  purity  of  the  snow  being  much  darkened  by  the 


kize,  that  heir 


.  ,:i  . 


SVOVr  HOUSES. 


83 


of  64. 

a  hole  aboat 

a  low-arched 

pass  in  a  stoop- 


imoke  and  breath  which  had  congealed  on  it  daring 
^he  night;  there  still,  however,  continued  to  be  so 
Diear  a  light,  that  the  finest  work  could  be  done  by  it 
l^vithcut  straining  the  eyes.  There  were  five  clusters 
)f  huts,  some  having  one,  some  two,  and  others  three 
loroes,  in  which  thirteen  families  lived,  each  occupy- 
ing a  dome  or  one  side  of  it,  according  to  their  strength, 
^he  tvhole  number  of  people  re  21  men,  25  wo- 
len,  and  18  children,  making- 

The  entrance  to  the  dwell 

yard  in  diameter,  which  i 
)assage  of  sufficient  breadth  fo. 

lug  posture,  and  about  16  feet  in  length  ;  another  hole 
Ihen  presented  itself,  and  led  through  a  similarly 
paped,  but  shorter  passage,  having  at  its  termination 

round  opening,  about  two  feet  across.  Up  this 
lole  we  crept  one  step,  and  found  ourselves  in  a  dome 
gibout  seven  feet  in  height,  and  as  many  in  diameter, 
Ifrom  whence  the  three  dwelling-places,  with  arched 
Voofs,  were  entered.  It  must  be  observed  that  this 
|s  the  description  of  a  large  hut,  the  smaller  ones 
containing  one  or  two  families,  having  the  domes 
^omewhat  differently  arranged. 

Each  dwelling  might  be  averaged  at  14  or  16  feet 
|n  diameter  by  6  or  7  in  height,  but  as  snow  alone 

ira»  Uiied  in  their  construction,  and  was  always  at 
land,  it  might  be  supposed  that  there  was  no  particular 
[ize,  that  being  of  course  at  the  option  of  the  builder. 

.  he  laying  of  the  arch  was  performed  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  would  have  satisfied  the  most  regular  artist,  the 
(ey-piece  on  the  top,  being  a  large  square  slab.  The 
blocks  of  snow  used  in  the  buildings  were  from  four  to 
fix  inches  in  thickness,  and  about  a  couple  of  feet  in 
length,  carefully  pared  with  a  large  knife.  Where 
jwo  families  occupied  a  dome,  a  seat  was  raised  on 
^ither  side,  two  feet  in  height.     These  raised  places 

i^ere  used  as  beds,  and  covered  in  the  first  place  with 

I'halebone,  sprigs  of  andromeda,  or  pieces  of  seals* 
Ikin,  over  these  were  spread  deer  pelts  and  deer  skin 
^lothes,  which  had  a  very  warm   appearance.    The 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


11.25 


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33  WIST  MAM  STUHT 

WnS7«R,N.Y.  14SM 

(71*)  •72-4503 


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v^' 


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:i  ,1;    ; 


84 


INTERIOB  07  THE 


pelts  were  used  as  blankets,  and  many  of  them  had 
ornamental  fringes  of  leather  sewed  round  their  edges. 
Each  dwelling-place  was  illumined  by  a  broad  piece 
of  transparent  fresh  water  ice,  of  about  two  feet  Id 
diameter,  which  formed  part  of  the  roof,  and  was 
placed  over  the  door.  These  windows  gave  a  most 
pleasing  light,  free  from  glare,  and  something  lik« 
that  which  is  thrown  through  ground  glass.  We 
soon  learned  that  the  building  of  a  house  was  but  the 
work  of  an  hour  or  two,  and  that  a  couple  of  roeo, 
one  to  cut  the  slabs  and  the  other  to  lay  them,  were  | 
labourers  sufficient. 

For  the  support  of  the   lamps  and  cooking  appa- 
ratus, a   mound  of  snow  is  erected  for  each  family; 
and  when  the  master  has  two  wives,  or  a  mother,  botitl 
have  an  independent  place,  one  at  each  end  c^  the! 
bench. 

I  find  it  impossible  to  attempt  describing  ever; I 
thing  at  a  second  visit,  and  shall  therefore  only  give 
an  account  of  those  articles  of  furniture,  which  mustl 
be  always  the  same,  and  with  which,  in  five  minutes,! 
any  one  might  be  acquainted.  A  frame,  composed  I 
of  two  or  three  broken  fishing-spears,  supported  iol 
the  first  place,  a  large  hoop  of  wood  or  bone,  acrossi 
which  an  open  meshed  and  ill-made  net  was  spreadl 
or  worked,  for  the  reception  of  wet  or  damp  clothes,! 
skins,  .  &c.  which  could  be  dried  by  the  heat  of  thel 
lamp.  On  this  contrivance,  the  master  of  each  hull 
placed  his  gloves  on  entering,  first  carefully  cleariQg| 
them  of  snow. 

From  the  frame  above-mentioned,  one  or  more  coffiD-l 
shaped  stone  pots  were  suspended  over  lamps  of  thel 
same  material,  crescent  shaped,  and  having  a  ridgel 
extending  along  their  back  :  the  bowl  part  was  filledl 
with  blubber ;  and  the  oil  and  wicks  were  ranged  closel 
together  along  the  edge.  These  wicks  were  made  ofl 
moss,  and  trimmed  by  a  piece  of  asbestos,  stone,  orl 
wood :  near  at  hand  a  large  bunch  of  moss  was  hangf 
ing  for  a  future  supply.  The  lamps  were  supportedl 
by  sticks,  bones,  or  pieces  of  horO)  at  a  Q|ifllcieDi[ 


i    ■ 


■f.fc 


"i     ! 


t   ESKIMAVX  HUTS. 


85 


lem,  were 


height  to  admit  an  oval  pot  of  wood  or  whalebone 
beneath,  in  order  to  catch  any  oil  that  might  drop 
from  them.  The  lamps  varied  considerably  in  size, 
from  two  feet  to  six  inches  in  length,  and  the  pots  were 
equally  irregular,  holding  from  two  or  three  gallons  to 
balf  a  pint.  Although  I  have  mentioned  a  kind  of 
scaffolding,  these  people  did  not  all  possess  so  grand 
an  establishment,  many  being  contented  to  suspend 
their  pot  to  a  piece  of  bone  stuck  in  the  wall  of  the 
hot.  One  young  woman  was  quite  a  caricature  in  this 
way ;  she  was  the  mferior  wife  of  a  young  man,  whose 
senior  lady  was  of  a  large  size,  and  had  a  corresponding 
lamp,  &c.  at  one  corner,  while  she  herseh  being  short 
and  fat,  had  a  lamp  the  size  of  half  a  dessert  plate,  and 
a  pot  which  held  a  pint  only. 

Almost  every  family  was  possessed  of  a  large  wooden 
tray,  resembling  those  used  by  butchers  in  England ; 
its  offices,  however,  as  we  soon  perceived,  were  more 
vaiiou?,  some  containing  raw  flesh  of  seals  and  blubber, 
and  others,  skins  which  were  steeping  in  urine.  A 
quantity  of  variously  sized  bowls  of  whalebone,  wood, 
or  skin,  completed  the  list  of  vessels,  and  it  was  evi- 
dent that  they  were  made  to  contain  any  thing. 

The  first  specimen  we  had  of  the  indifl^rence  of 
the  Eskimaux,  as  to  what  they  put  into  their  mouths, 
was  in  consequence  of  Captain  Parry's  purchasing  a 
lamp  at  the  time  it  was  burning.  The  woman  who 
sold  it  instantly  extinguished  the  light,  and  vigorously 
commenced  cleaning  the  lamp,  which  contained  as 
much  soot  as  oil,  by  -scraping  it  with  her  fingers, 
which,  with  their  load  of  sweets,  she  conveyed  rapidly 
to  her  mouth.  The  tongue  finished  the  operation ; 
the  lamp  was  licked  perfectly  clean,  while  in  return 
it  covered  her  face  with  soot,  and  caused  us  all  a 
laugh  at  her  uncouth  figure,  in  which  she  joined 
most  heartily. 

^  In  Kettle^s  hut  we  met  with  a  most  graceful  recep- 
tion from  his  wife,  Oom-gnft,  who  presented  each  of  us 
wiih  a  piece  of  rein-deer  fat  as  a  compliment.    I  ate 
my  morsel,  and  found  it  sweet  and  good. 
,8 


w 


EsKiMAux  mrmiifa. 


•   kM  r 


'   While  examfiiipg  tfafs  interior  ,of  the  hx^U,  ve  found 
maQy  opportunities  of  e^tabUi^ing  oijunely^  in  \\^  f».  | 
TOUT  of  the  Eskiqvamc  by  ^ttei^tiopa  to  their  c^Uldreo,  i 
whose  first  appeArappe  gfiye  me  a  mjost  favoiirAbie  i4iea 
of  their  quiet  and  uopbti^i^ve  manners,  wid  I  neTei  | 
afterwards  had  occasion  to  alter  my  <^inion  of  them. 
)  could  not  look  on  these  modest  little  sayages,  withput  I 
being  obliged  to  draw  comparisons  rather  dlsady^nts* 
geous  to  many  sweet  little  spoiled  childrefi  in  England, 
and  I  inly  determined,  sbou^d  I  evef  be  blessefl  with  i 
family  of  my  own.  to  tell  them  many  storjes  of  tbew 
Indians,  whose  orderly  behayiour  mig|»t  be  an  exampli; 
to  them.    Of  the  outward  garb  of  my  youpg  friends  I 
cannot  say  much,  for  they  were  as  dirty  as  hum^o  crea> 
tures  could  possibly  be;  their  large  dresses,  which | 
shall  at  some  future  page  describe,  giyiog  them  when 
their  faces  were  hidden,  the  appearance  of  young  beani,! 
wolyes,  seais,  and  puppy  dogs :  they  were,  howeyerj 
the  picture  of  health,  rosy,  fat,  and  strong,  with  the! 
finest  black  eyes  imaginable,  and  a  profusion  of  loon 
jetty  hair.  ../^  | 

The  faces  of  the  yoi^ig  wome^  Would,  if  cleanerJ 
haye  been  considered  pleasiqg,  notwiths^tanding  th^l 
great  breadth  of  their  featiires,  for  they  had  a  fine  rosjj 
colour  with  brilliant  and  expressive  eyes.  All  the  fe-| 
males,  while  we  were  present,  repeatedly  uttered  al 
kind  of  grunt,  which  I  at  length  discoyered  to  be  a  ajgil 
jof  ^'"eat  satisfaction.  We  observed  a  boy,  of  at  lesstl 
ic  ears  of  age,  walk  up  to  his  mother  and  8^9k  foil 
ihc  }/«*ea8t,  which  she  immediately  presented  to  hJm 
at  the  same  time  squeezing  the  milk  into  his  mouti| 
with  both  her  hands. 

Attention  to  the  comforts  of  the  children  w«s  e¥i-| 
dent  in  every  action  of  the  mother ;  yet,  whatever  rd-l 
roantic  ideas  1  might  have  formed  about  nursing  ill 
England,  I  could  not  here  conjure  up  any  very  senti,*! 
mental  fancies,  the  bibes  being  kept  naked  agaiiut| 
their  parent's  bare  back,  which,  it  might  be  conceived,! 
!  did  not  much  improve  the  naturally  dirty  appejirancel 
of  the  latter.    But  I  dare  not,  and  indeed  k^ve  no  wishi 


iii'i ' 


(0  proceed  fartliei'  on  a  subject  whicli  wouW  disgust 
B  tho^e  I  aai  strivili^  to  amuse. 

Scarcely  any  omatnents  were  worn,  or  possessed,  by 
the  women,  except  a  small  bracelet  of  beads,  so  that 
they  received  oar  looking-glasses  and  trinkets  with 
raptures,  which  showed  that  they  were  as  much  de- 
lighted with  innocent  finery  as  the  fair  sex  in  a  better 
country.  When  I  say  they  have  few  ornaments  i  am 
in  error,  for  I  ought  to  mention  the  Kftk-keen  (or  tat- 
toe)  with  which  they  are  covered,  not  excepting  the 
thighs  and  breasts.  The  patterns  vary  a  little,  but 
their  position  isj|lways  the  same.  To  describe  their 
arniDgement,  t  should  have  ventured  to  give  a  drawing 
of  a  female  ligure  in  the  frontispiece,  and  have  paint- 
ed the  ornaments  en  place,  had  I  not  thought  the  intro- 
duction of  a  naked  lady  not  iquite  correct;  besides 
which,  whatever  may  have  been  said  of  the  looseness 
of  the  manners  of  the  women,  I  am  confident  none 
wotild  have  consented  to  the  exhibition  of  more  than 
One  limb  at  a  time. 

My  curiosity  determined  me  on  seeing  how  the  ka- 
Ikeed  was  performed,  and  I  accordingly  put  myseit  into 
ithe  hands  of  Mrs.  Kettle,  whom  1  had  adopted  as  my 
[Amam&,  or  mother.  Having  furnished  her  with  a  fine 
peedie,  she  tore  with  her  teeth  a  thread  off  a  deer^s 
sinew,  and  thus  prepared  the  sewing  apparatus :  sh6 
then,  without  a  possibility  of  darkening  her  hands  be- 
yond their  standard  colour,  passed  her  fingers  under 
the  bottom  of  the  stone  pot,  from  whence  she  collect- 
ed a  quantity  of  soot ;  with  this,  together  with  a  little 
oil,  and  much  saliva,  she  soon  made  a  good  mixture, 
and  taking  a  small  piece  of  whalebone  well  bladkened, 
she  then  drew  a  variety  of  figures  about  my  arm,  dif- 
fering, as  1  easily  saw,  from  those  with  which  she  her- 
ptelf  #88  marked ;  and  calling  her  housemates,  they  all 
ehjoyed  a  good  laugh  at  the  figures,  which  perhaps 
jcbth^ciycid  soine  meaning  I  could  not  fathom. 

I  had,  ho#ever,  only  detennined  on  a  few  stitches, 
[so  that  her  tronble  was  in  sdifie  measure  thrown  av<ray. 
She  commenced  her  work  hy  blaek^nlng  the  thread 


■■>'■>. 


■■'.iSJJrtJ    * 

M'4-l 


m 


TATTOEIKO. 


with  soot,  and  taking  a  pretty  deep  bat  short  stitch  in 
my  skin,  carefully  pressing  her  thumb  on  the  wound  as 
the  thread  passed  through  it,  and  beginning  each 
stitch  at  the  place  where  the  last  had  ceased.  My  flesh 
being  tough,  she  got  on  but  slowly,  and  having  broken 
•ne  needle  in  trymg  to  force  it  through,  I  thought  fit, 
when  she  had  completed  forty  stitches,  or  about  two 
inches,  to  allow  her  to  desist :  then  rubbii^  the  part 
with  oil,  in  order  to  staunch  a  little  blood  which  ap> 
peared,  she  finished  the  operation.  I  could  now  form 
an  idea  of  the  price  paid  by  the  Eskimaux  females  for 
their  embellishments,  which  for  a  time  occasion  a  slight 
inflammation  and  some  degree  of  pain.  The  colour 
which  the  kakeen  assumes  when  the  skin  heals,  is  of 
the  same  light  blue  as  we  see  on  the  marked  arms  of 
seamen.  f 

Such  general  good  humour  and  merriment  reigned 
in  every  hut,  that  observing  but  one  sad  face,  that  of  a 
young  woman,  I  was  led  to  inquire  by  signs  the  cause 
of  it,  and  found  that  it  was  occasioned  by  her  sufleriog 
from  a  complaint  in  the  chest,  and  from  grief  at  having 
lost  her  infant :  yet  this  poor  creature  always  bright- 
ened up  on  being  spoken  to,  and  endeavoured  to  look 
as  happy  as  her  companions.  During  our  visit  we  had^j 
not  omitted  to  purchase  little  toys  and  trifles  which 
were  new  to  us,  and  in  all  the  traffic  it  was  observable 
that  the  husbands  and  wives  consulted  each  other  on 
any  bargains  of  importance.  We  easily  eflfected  the 
purchase  of  bows  and  arrows  which  had  stone  bends, 
and  observed  that  some  of  the  bows  were  made  of  the 
split  horn  of  deer,  strengthened  by  the  usual  assem- 
blage of  smews  along  the  back. 

!n  every  family  we  found  proofs  of  some  intercourse 
having  existed  with  Europeans,  although  apparently 
through  an  intermediate  channel ;  knives,  tools,  two 
large  copper  kettles,  and  beads  having  been  met  with ; 
amongst  the  tools  were  some  women^s  knives,  mounted 
by  Europeans :  one  had  the  names  of  Wild  and  Sorbj, 
and  another  that  of  Potter,  while  several  had  initials  | 
stamped  on  them  in  Roman  letters^ 


■^  -" 


HONESTY. 


89 


We  were  all  in  admiration  of  the  honesty  of  the  na- 
tives, who  would  not  even  appropriate  a  bead  dropped 
by  accident,  without  permission,  even  although  novelty 
and  opportunity  might  have  been  offered  as  an  excuse 
for  them. 

To  convince  myself  more  fully  of  their  possessing 
this  noble  virtue,  I  left  knives,  scissars,  looking-glasses, 
and,  in  fact,  my  whole  stock  in  trade  on  the  bed-placa. 
in  Kettle's  hut,  from  whence  1  absented  myself  for  a 
considerable  time,  leaving  above  a  dozen  natives  be- 
hind me.  On  my  return  1  found  my  goods  carefully 
covered  with  a  skin,  and  unmoved  from  the  spot  on 
which  I  had  placed  them. 

From  some  of  the  officers  I  learnt  that  various  arti- 
cles which  they  had  accidentally  dropt,  or  left  behind, 
were  brought  by  those  who  found  them,  holding  the 
objects  up,  as  if  inquiring  for  their  proper  owners. 
Several  Eskimaux,  while  standing  outside  the  huts,  re- 
ceived trifling  presents,  such  as  a  needle  or  button,  and 
in  almost  every  instance,  returned  soon  after  to  offer  a 
pair  of  mittens,  a  skin,  an  ivory  ornament,  or  some 
other  exchange,  which  they  thought  would  prove  ac- 
ceptable. While  sitting  at  home  tiie  natives  appeared 
greatly  to  feel  the  cold,  and  indeed  the  warmest  dwell- 
ing only  rose  the  thermometer  to  5°  above  the  frieez- 
ing  point.  In  consequence  of  this  comfortless  tcmpeill 
rature,  both  sexes  had  a  custom,  which  I  afterwards 
found  to  be  very  general,  of  withdrawing  their  arms 
from  the  loose  sleeves  of  their  jackets,  and  crossing 
them  against  the  naked  breast,  i  have  b^ore  men- 
tioned the  snug  place  in  which  the  naked  infants  are  die- 
posited,  and  where  they  lie  very  warm;  but  1  was 
amazed,  in  two  or  three  instances,  to  see  these  little 
creatures  sitting  with  half  their  bodies  exposed  to  a 
temperature  of  32"^  below  zero,  for  at  least  ten  minutes, 
while  their  mothers  were  outside  the  huts,  and  this 
without  any  injury  to  their  tender  skin^  while  we 
full-grown  Europeans,  with  all  our  precautions,  were 
frequently  frost-bitten  in  half  the  time.  In  these  cases 
the  Eskimaux  have  a  very  effectual  way  of  restoring 
8  * 


90 


D068. 


:i  •  '.y'., 


the  circulation,  which  if  hy  lajiogf  a  warm  hand  ob  the 
place  affected.  We,  on  the  oontrarj,  bad  always  been 
accustomed  to  rub  the  spot  with  snow,  which  frequent- 
ly caused  irritation,  and  left  (he  part  so  tender  as  to 
render  it  extremely  susceptible  of  other  attacks. 

As  we  dined  in  one  of  the  huts,  the  natires  of  course 
partook  of  some  of  our  food,  which  they  approved 
▼ery  much ;  but  in  no  one  instance  did  they  beg  for 
any,  though  their  own  stock  of  provisions  seemed  but 
scanty,  and  in  fact,  very  few  of  the  people  took  a  full 
itteal  while  we  were  with  them.  What  they  did  eat 
was  in  as  many  instances  raw  aa  boiled,  and  both  food 
and  utensils  were  so  indescribably  filthy  and  oily,  that 
(he  stomachs  of  many  of  our  party  were  quite  turned. 
I  hoivever  had  fortunately  served  a  kind  of  apprentice- 
ship to  bad  and  unsavoury  food,  and  therefore  managed 
better.  My  friends,  the  Arabs,  were  frequently  brought 
to  my  remembrance  by  the  repeated  and  satisfactory 
eructations  of  both  sexes.  As  almost  every  digestible 
Substance  is  eaten  by  Elskimaux,  it  can  scarcely  be  sup- 
posed that  their  dogs  were  in  very  good  case,  and  in 
tact,  the  poor  lean  creatures  prowled  about  the  huts 
in  a  most  dejected  manner.  The  systen.  of  starvation 
aeiemed  to  have  the  effect  of  making  these  animals  par- 
ticularly docile  at  this  period,  which  we  weie  not 
%orry  for,  as  they  had  most  terrific  tusks.  To  prevent 
them  from  straying  to  any  distance,  it  was  customary 
to  tie  one  of  the  fore  legs  up  to  the  neck,  so  that  an 
attempt  to  run,  immediately  threw  the  animal  down. 
Some  whfl^h  appeared  wild  and  shy  were  tethered  by 
their  sledge  harness  to  a  stone  or  piece  of  ice.  The 
younger  branches  of  the  dog  family  were  well  taken 
care  of,  and  there  were  two  or  three  litters  with  their 
mothers  lying  in  the  beds  of  their  masters. 

We  returned  on  board  at  dusk,  highly  delighted  with 
our  visit,  and  inclined  to  think  most  favourably  of  our 
Hew  acquaintances. 

A  wolf  was  shot  during  the  night,  by  two  of  the 
Fury^s  officers.  It  was  a  male,  and  very  large,  yet  so 
miserably  thin,  as  to  weigh  only  68lbs. 


LVXITBIBff. 


Somd  officers  who  visited  ttie  hqts  on  the  3d,  h*tf 
the  sa^Mtion  of  seeing  the  retarti  of  the  bantew, 
i^ho  had  been  sealing  on  the  ice,  bringing  in  four  seal* 
[which  they  had  procured.  Amongst  some  fresh  in- 
stances  of  honesty,  I  heard  of  one  man  bringing  a  dog 
which  had  been  sold,  and  vvhich  afterwards  escaped 
home,  to  the  person  who  purchased  it,  and  who  could 
not  hai^e  Icnown  it  again  amongst  the  great  number  of 
others  of  the  same  colour.  Two  men,  also,  were  ob- 
served struggling  for  an  ornament  which  had  been 
dropped,  but  it  was  soon  seen  to  be  a  dispute  as  to 
which  should  bring  it  to  the  proper  owner. 

Twelve  wolves  were  lying  in  wait  between  the  huts 
and  the  ships,  for  any  Eskimaux  dogs  which  should 
jpass,  and  we  saw  one  unfortunate  animal  very  narrowly 
lescape  from  them.    On  the  4(h,  I  again  went  to  the 
|hats  with  a  party  :  we  met  with  some  young  men  on 
Ithe  way,  who  were  coming  to  the  ships,  but  they  turn- 
led  back  with  us.     In  order  to  amuse  us,  they  shot 
loccasionally  at  any  lump  of  ice  which  lay  in  their  way, 
Iwitb  a  small  bow  which  was  made  for  the  market.    As 
Ithey  seldom  hit  their  mark,  1  held  up  my  leg  in  deri- 
sion, as  a  butt  to  be  shot  at,  but  I  evidently  saw  that 
although  they  affected  to  take  a  steady  aim,  they  avoid- 
ed hitting  it,  for  fear  of  hurting  me.    On  entering  the 
huts,  we  every  where  saw  abundant  proofs  of  the  re- 
pent capture  of  seals,  blubber,  flesh,  blood,  bones,  and 
bffal,  lying  in  every  dlrectioh ,  ;i!l  the  lamps  were  well 
fupplied  with  fat,  and  every  cooking  pot  was  in  reqni- 
|ition;  stewing  extraordinary  mixtures  of  meat,  blood, 
Itnd  uncleaned  entrails,  under  the  superintendence  of 
[he  women ;  two  of  them,  in  Kettle's  hut,  were  dis- 
cussing with  great  satisfaction  and  sociability,  a  laige 
hot  of  boiled  seaPs  blood  and  oil,  which  they  sipped 
klternately  one  mouthful  each,  until  it  was  finished, 
Vith  far  greater  zest  than  F.uropean  ladies  take  their 
ea.    The  soup  being  drank,  the  younger  damsel  licked 
lie  blood  from  her  fingers  with  great  decency  and  de- 
oram,  after  which  she  scraped  whatever  had  dropped 
~  her  jacket  and  boots  with  a  long  knife,  carefully 


l 


92 


MAVNB1I  09  DBIUIN6  HOLES. 


^' 


II  .  \.   f 


Ik 


cleaning  it  occasionally  with  that  inimitable  pocket 
handkerchief,  the  tongue.  The  elder  lady,  disdaining 
the  frivolitvof  her  companion,  gloried  in  the  tokens 
of  feasting  by  which  she  was  covered,  and  scornf.'l  to 
remove  the  luxurious  blushing  paste  which  coatee  her 
face  and  hands.  Both  then  treated  themselves  to  ra^ 
ther  a  strange  but  very  plentiful  dessert  from  the 
heads  of  two  young  children,  which  underwent  the 
strictest  examination  ;  and  such  luckless  interlopers  as 
were  discovered,  soon  found  a  grave  in  the  mouths  of  | 
the  relentless  huntresses,  who  cracked  them  between 
their  teeth  with  the  most  evident  satisfaction.  On 
pointing  out  the  woman  whom  I  had  seen  suckling  her  I 
son  on  the  first  day,  she  repeated  this  little  scene  of 
tenderness  immediately  ;  but  not  content  with  this  ex- 
hibition, she  squirted  her  child^s  provision  over  us  with 
such  spirit,  as  to  drive  us  out  of  the  hut. 

I  had  employed  a  young  man  named  A-yo-kitt,  to 
manufacture  an  eye-shade  for  me.     As  is  customary 
with  negroes,  he  cutlowards  the  left  hand,  and  never 
used  the  thumb  of  the  right,  as  we  do,  for  a  check  to 
the  knife.     A  small  awl  answered  the  purpose  of  a 
whetter  to  him,  and  also  as  a  drill  for  making  holes,  io 
which  case  a  bow  and  string  are  used  as  with  us  to  give  I 
the  rotatory  motion,  and  a  piece  of  wood  or  bone  ill 
held  between  the  teeth  and  pressed  with  force  on  thel 
drill,  to  steady  it.     The  neatness  with  which  boles  arel 
made  in  ivory,  is  extraordinary,  considering  the  toolsl 
made  use  of,  but  above  all,  the  piercing  foxes^  teeth  mi 
the  most  amazing,  the  holes  being  scarcely  large  enougli| 
to  allow  of  a  fine  needle  passing  through  them. 

At&-na-ghioo,  a  fine  young  woman,  came  to  the  hutl 
while  1  was  in  it,  and  taking  her  little  sister  out  of  herl 
mother^s  hood,  sat  herself  very  quietly  down  andsuckT 
led  it.  She  had  lost  her  own  child  a  short  time  before! 
In  coming  back  to  the  ships,  we  met  several  nativejl 
returning  home,  all  of  whom  held  up  the  different  pre-l 
sents  they  had  received,  with  signs  of  gpreat  satisfactioDl 
Near  the  Hecia,  we  found  a  woman  and  her  rosy  littl(| 
child  on  their  knees  busily  seeking  some  very 


MANKEB  OV  SEWIITO. 


93 


beadi  which  had  been  dropped  on  the  snow  at  our  first 
interview  with  the  natives,  the  spot  having  been  mark- 
ed b^  the  erection  of  a  small  slab  of  snow.  On  our 
approach  she  ceased  her  occupation,  as  if  fearful  that 
fve  should  prevent  her ;  but  by  her  looks,  asked  if  she 
might  continue  the  search,  licking  at  the  same  time 
one  of  the  beads,  to  show  that  she  would  receive  them 
as  a  present  from  us.  A  small  necklace  which  1  added 
to  her  stock,  made  the  poor  creature  completely  happy. 
In  the  beaten  track  we  passed  a  tin  canister  containing 
a  knife,  some  pieces  of  iron  hoop,  and  beado,  which  had 
been  left  by  the  owner,  with  the  most  implicit  confi- 
dence in  the  honesty  of  our  people  and  of  his  own 
countrymen.  He  was  in  the  mean  time  employed  with 
a  dozen  other;*,  in  turning  up  our  dirt  heap,  from  whence 
many  prizes  of  broken  bottles,  rag^,  and  pieces  of 
wood  were  very  gratefully  taken,  Mr.  Hoppner^s  per- 
mission having  been  obtained  before  they  commenced 
their  search. 

On  the  5th  some  of  us  again  visited  the  huts,  and  on 
our  way  were  passed  by  a  wolf,  which  did  not  betray 
any  ahrm  at  our  appearance,  but  quietly  walked  on. 

We  found  that  the  men  were  nearly  all  absent  on  a 
sealing  excursion,  and  the  women  busily  occupied  in 
I  making  shoes,  hoots,  and  other  articles  for  the  market ; 
and  now,  for  the  first  time,  we  observed  the  peculiar 
manner  in  which  they  use  their  needles;  thii*  is,  by 
holding  them  betwixt  the  thumb  and  middle  finger, 
I  while  the  impetus  is  given  by  the  fore-finger,  well 
armed  by  a  thimble  of  leather:  all  sewing,  therefore, 
is  towards  the  body.  Their  manner  of  working  is  ex- 
tremely neat  and  regular;  but  what  particular  kind  of 
I  stitch  they  commonly  use,  I  am  unable,  from  my  igno- 
rance of  every  thing  except  darning,  to  specify.  Si- 
news of  deer,  split  to  the  requisite  thickness,  answer 
the  purpose  of  thread,  and  are  undoubtedly  much  more 
(lurable.  While  at  work  the  women  frequently  chaunt-> 
ed,  in  a  low  tone,  their  monotonous  tunes,  which  much 
reminded  me  of  the  *^  boori,  or  witch  song^,^'  sung  by 
the  Soudan  negresses  while  occupied  in  their  bouse^ 
hold  work,  .     .         ,.._,,%. 


!;. 


H 


ATOOKltT. 


In  «  coDBpartmcBit  of  one  of  the  huts  the  entrance 
Wm  bnlf  blocked  op  with  tnoWf  in  order  to  confine  a 
mek  idiot  boy  whb  hsd  been  left  by  his  parents  when 
going  to  the  ships.  I  observed  the  poor  child,  who 
#as  five  or  six  years  of  age^  busily  occupied  in  devour- 
ing  the  contents  of  the  lamp,  takin|^,  indiscriminately, 
6il,  moss,  blubber,  and  soot,  and  seasoning  these  delica- 
cies by  an  occasional  bite  of  a  verv  dirty  lump  of  snow. 
Whilst  I  was  admiring  the  taste  of  the  boy,  he  was  sud- 
denly seized  with  a  oevere  epileptic  fit,  and  before  we 
could  break  down  the  door,  had  forced  himself  from 
between  his  deer-skin  blankets,  and  fallen  naked  on  the 
icy  floor :  after  a  very  strong  fit  he  gradually  recover- 
ed, and  from  mere  exhaustion  fell  asleep.  Some  of  the 
Eskimaux  who  were  present,  turned  the  whole  affair 
into  ridicule,  and  said  he  had  eaten  too  much ;  but  I 
soon  found  that  the  child^s  fatuity  proceeded  from  a 
frequent  recurrence  of  epilepsy. 

During  our  visit  1  was  enabled  to  add  many,  words 
to  my  vocabulary,  and  was  cheerfully  assisted  in  that 
object  by  the  readiness  of  the  natives  to  give  me  in- 
formation,  it  being  merely  requisite  to  point  a  pencil 
at  the  object  in  question,  and  to  produce  a  book,  to 
set  all  in  company  vociferating  its  name  with  most 
merry  shouts.  Ay-o-kitt,  Ki,-ree-ta,  and  his  wife 
Atft-na-ghioo-ee,  accompanied  us  back  to  the  ships, 
In  our  walk  we  heard  the  cry  of  the  pack  of  wolves 
very  close  to  us,  and  as  we  supposed,  in  chase  of 
some  prey  near,  or  amongst  the  hummocky  ice.  On 
our  dirt  heap  we  found,  as  usual,  a  large  assemblage 
of  men,  women,  and  children,  some  of  the  latter  of 
whom  were  so  very  rosy  and  pretty,  that  in  spite  of 
their  dirt  I  longed  to  kiss  them. 

Kettle  was  on  the  quarter-deck,  exhibiting  his 
powers  of  eating  on  an  immense  pot  of  bread  dost, 
inoistened  with  train  oil,  of  which  also  he  occasion* 
ftUy  took  a  mouthfnl  with  great  relish.*    A^-od-kltt, 

*  Crautz  layi  the  Eidtiiriaux  will  not  dirink  oil ;  7>«''hapa  not  at 
»  dvaughty  but  tiny  certaiaiy  enjoy  an  occasional  aip  vr\U  any  di;  | 
food. 


:'i  '■ 


BOLSITEIS  OV  THB  WOLTM« 

who  bad  become  n  great  fav  )urite  of  mine,  pfid  Bf 
along  visit  in  the  cabin,  wiiere  I  gave  liim  food* 
obliging  liim  to  use  a  knife  and  fork  like  an  European, 
to  wipe  his  mouth  previously  to  drinking,  and  not  to 
put  any  piece  of  meat  beyond  the  size  of  an  orange 
into  it  at  one  time  ;  the  Eskimaux  having  an  extra- 
ordinary propensity  to  cram  their  mouths  so  full  as  to 
allow  no  room  for  respiration. 

As  1  enforced  my  instructions  by  example,  1  af|ler- 
wards  washed  my  face  and  hands,  making  him  do  i\^ 
same;  during  the  operation,  1  saw  him  cast  many 
longing  looks  at  the  tempting  piece  of  yellow  soap 
which  we  were  using,  until  at  length  his  repeated 
Ay-y&&*s  of  admiration  determined  me  on  making  him 
happy,  and  he  devoured  it  with  delight. 

The   wolves  had  now  grown  so  bold  as  to  come 
alongside,  and  on  this  night  they  broke  into  a  snow 
boose,  in  which  a  couple  of  newly  purchased   Esjci- 
maax  dogs  were  confined,  and  carried  them  oif,  bpt 
inot  without  some   difficulty,  for  in  the  dayliglit  we 
j  found  even  the  ceiling  of  the  hut  sprinkled  with  blood 
and  hair.    When  the  alarm  was  given,  and  the  wolvet 
were  fired  at,  one  of  them  was  observed  carrying  a 
dead  dog  in  his  mouth,  clear  of  the  jp^round,  at  a  canter, 
notwithstanding  the  animal  was  of  his  own  weight. 
He  dropped  his  prey,  however,  on  being  pursued,  and 
1  joined  two  men  in  bringing  back  the  dead  dog,  dur- 
ing which  the  whdle  pack  of  twelve  wolves  eyed  us 
very  et^erly,  and  we  could  just  discern  them  through 
the  gloom,  sidleing  along  parallel  to  us  as  we  walked 
to  the  ship.     Before  morning,  they  tore  a  quantity  of 
[canvas  off  the  observatory  and  devoured  it. 

During  the  two  last  days  all  the  £lskimaux  who  had 
I  visited  us  complained  sadly  of  hunger,  which  we  en- 
Ideavoured  to  alleviate.  Although  the  weather  had 
Ibeen  very  fine,  no  attempts  were  made  to  take  seals ; 
land  we  soon  began  to  find  that  these  improvideni  peo- 

{)le  rarely  sought  for  food  until  impelled  by  necessity 
ittle  short  of  starvi^tion.     The  huts  contained  only  a 
[few  old  people,  with  the  woofien  ^nd  children,  de^^ti- 


I,    I 


mS 


wMm> 


hi 


I  \i 

1 


U 


■*t^i^;j-  _  rt 


J  '■'■' 


96 


BOLDWESd  OV  THE  W0LTE8. 


tote  of  food ;  the  lamps  were  extinguished,  and  all  the 
oil  licked  from  them :  yet  the  men  were  all  walking 
ahout  on  board  the  ships,  without  any  regard  for  the 
distresses  of  t^eir  families. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  7ih,  the  wolves  came 
in  a  body  and  carried  away  the  carcass  of  a  dog  which 
had  been  moored  as  a  decoy,  on  the  ice  alongside 
with  strong  ropes,  even  before  a  musket  could  be  got 
ready  for~  them ;  and  when  they  had  dragged  their 
prize  a  short  distance  from  the  ship,  a  most  furious 
battle  was  fought  for  it.  For  several  nights  thej 
had  broken  and  straightened  baited  hooks  and  chains 
set  for  them  by  the  Fury,  .and  when  it  is  known  that 
the  hooks  were  made  of  the  iron  ramrods  of  muskets, 
some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  strength  of  jaw  requi- 
site to  break  them. 

In  the  evening  a  wolf  was  taken  in  a  trap  set  by 
the   Fury,  and  three   balls   were  fired  through  him  I 
while  imprisoned.      His  hind  legs  were   then  tied, 
and  he  was  dragged  out,  tail  foremost,  by  a  rope  ;  this 
he  instantly  bit  through  with  ease,  springing  at  Mr, 
Richards,  who  was  the  nearest  to  him,  and  seizing  him  I 
by  the  knee :  being  thrown  off,  the  animal  flew  at  his 
arm,  but,  with  great  presence  of  mind,  Mr.  Richards 
grasped  his  throat  and  flung  him  back,  at  the  same 
time  retreating  a  pace  or  two,  when  the  wolf  quicklj 
made  his  escape,  having  done  no  other  damage  than  I 
tearing  Mr.   Richards's  clothes,  and  slightly  wound- 
ing Ms -arm.     It  was  very^ fortunate  that  the  requisite  I 
quantity  of  winter  clothing  formed  a  good  defence, 
and  that  the  j)erson  attacked  was  a  powerful  young 
man,  the  effects  might  otherwise  have  been  more  se- 
rious.   Mr.  Nias  struck  the  animal  once  or  twice  with| 
a  cutlass,  but  without  doing  it  any  injury. 

On  the  morning  of  the  8th  the  same  wolf  was  found] 
round  the  S.  E.  point,  frozen  quite  stiff.  A  raven  dis-l 
covered  the  position  of  the  carcass,  by  hovering  ovei{ 
it,  after  having  picked  out  one  of  ij^e  eyes. 

Captain  Parry  invited  me  on  board  the  Fury  to  an  I 
Eskimaux  concert,  in  wliichfive  ladies  and  a  gentleman 


BSKlMAirX  MV81C. 


9? 


performed.  Their  taoes  were  extremely  monotonous, 
but  suDg  in  good  time.  As  these  ditties  will  frequent- 
ly be  mentioned,  I  may  here  insert  ihem,*without  de- 
terring it  to  a  general  account.*  Oko-took  the  man, 
uncovered  his  head  while  singing,  and  observing  his 
little  boy's  hood  up,  pushed  it  back  somewhat  roughly. 
The  women,  while  singing,  either  entirely  closed,  or  ' 
kept  their  eyes  half  open  in  a  very  languishing  man- 
ner. 

In  return  for  the  songs.  Captain  Parry  and  some  of 
the  officers  treated  the  natives  with  some  instrumental 
music,  of  which  I  thought  the  flageolet  was  most  ad-  - 
mired.    Ilig-li-ak,  the  wife  of  Oko-took,  appeared  to  4 
have  a  very  accurate  ear,  and  seemed  much  distressed 
at  being  unable  to  sing  in  time  to  a  large  organ.    All 


•  No,  1,  as  many  verses  as  "  Chevy  Chase," 


Amna  ay  a   ay  a  am  •  na, 


SODg 


Sfe-Itcc5^^ 


fflDX. 


bis  tune  is  most  commonljr  used ;  and  as  almost  each  person  hAs 
a  song  of  his  own,  of  course  every  wife  sings  her  husband's  fa-  ' 
fourite  air,.unless  in  company,  when  all  sing  alike. 
9 


:h 


i 


H 


il    '   \ 


\y  i 


W' 


mi-^ 


9B 


E8KIMAVX  MUSIC. 


the  women  had  remarkably  sweet  Toices;  and  1 1    ..\ 
the  tones  of  Togor-lftt,  when  speaking,  were  as  atusi. 
cal  as  any  i»had  ever  heard.    The  distress  of  the  peo- 
ple at  the  huts  was  extreme  on  this  day ;  and  many 
of  them  were  found  chewing  pieres  of  dirty  hide  with 
the  hair  on.    Our  visitors  therefore  were  plentifully 
supplied  with  oil  and  bread-dust  for  themselves  and  for 
those  who  were  absent.    Water  was  as  much  required 
as  food,  no  lamps  being  alight  to  thaw  the  snow ;  and 
some   enormous    draughts    were  consequently  made. 
Parties  who  had  been  in  quest  of  seals,  returned  with- 
out having  been  successful.     Kettle  came  on  board, 
.  and,  after  much  fumbling,  and  ultimately  pulling  off 
one  jacket,  produced  and  offered  me  a  curious  fishing- 
hook  and  line  attached  to  a  piece  of  deer's  horn :  the 


Efc^fe^§: 


Pillhay,  a  -  wata  •  wat 


-    &c. 


i  ■i{ 


U  i 


M''' 


ah !  hooi^ 


ah !  hooi ! 


I8  is  absolutely  impossible  to  describe  by  notes,  or  otherwise,  ^ 
two  last  words,  which  are  uttered  with  a  wildness  approacbiq 
to  a  joyoos  yell. 


118 


>  .  . 


t  I; 
!    ■ '. 


A  PRESENT. 


99 


hook  was  made  of  a  bent  nail,  fitted  into  a  lump  of  ivo- 
ry of  the  size  of  a  walnut,  which!  was  given  to  under- 
staad  would,  by  its  glittering  in  the  water,  prove  attrac- 
tive to  the  fishes. 

As  this  was  the  first  present  I  ha'd  seen  or  heard  of, 
]  could  not  do  less  than  invite  the  donor  and  his  wife 
below,  where,  amongst  other  things,  I  showed  them 
some  dresses  and  weapons  from  the  Savage  Islands : 
the  former  of  these  differed  materially  in  cut  and  ma- 
terial, being  of  seals'  skins,  from  the  Winter  Island  cos- 
tame,  and  of  course  excited  much  interest.     While  ex- 
Bmiaing  these,  I  was  surprised  by  the  old  man's  sud- 
denly rising,  and  exactly  imitating  the  cries  and  ges- 
tures of  our  first  visitants,  and  afterwards  performing 
the  quiet  salutations  we  had  received  from  his  own 
tribe ;  this  he  did  in  so  marked  a  manner,  as  to  con- 
vince all  present  that  he  was  drawing  no  very  favoura- 
ble comparison  between  the  two.     1  now  learnt  th^t 
he  called  the  other  people  Khiad-ler-mioo.     My  old 
friendcMlbeing  dismissed,  1  received  a  visit  from  a  very 
comical  fellow,  the  smallest  of  the  tribe,  four  feet  ten 
ioches  in  height,  and  his  young  and  pretty  wife.    I  ob- 
tained a  tolerable  sketch  of  the  latter,  and  a  copy  also 
of  the  kakeen  on  her  arm  and  shoulder.     During  this 
time  she  frequently  blushed  deeply,  which  convinced 
I  me  that  these  people  have,  in  spite  of  their  otherwise 
I  rather  irregular  conduct,  an  innate  sense  of  modesty, 
las  far  as  regards  exhibiting  any  part  of  the  person.    In 
return  for  !:he  complaisance  of  my  visitors,  I  treated 
them  with  some  bread,  and  a  couple  of  mould  candles, 
of  ivhich,  in  consequence  of  my  respect  for  the  lady, 
the  largest,  a  fine  six  to  the  pound,  became  her  share. 
[These  dainties  were  most  thankfully  received;  and 
Iwhen  Arn&-l6o-&  had  discussed  the  tallow,  1  took  the 
Iwick  from  her  mouth,  lest  her  swallowing  it  also,  as 
uhe  fully  intended  doing,  should  disagree  with  her. 
The  husband,  who  had  obtained,  in  addition  to  his  pro- 
;>er  name  of  Koo-Mlt-teuk,  or  great  coat,  that  of  th:^ 
^  Jealous  little  Man,''  appeared  to  have  some  cause  for 
Wing  80 ;  as  I  observed  the  young  lady,  in  spite  of  her 


M 


A  PRESENT. 


99 


hook  was  made  of  a  bent  nail,  fitted  into  a  lump  of  ivo- 
ry of  the  size  of  a  walnut,  which!  was  given  to  under- 
stand would,  by  its  glittering  in  the  water,  prove  attrac- 
tive to  the  fishes. 

As  this  was  the  first  present  I  ha'd  seen  or  heard  of, 
I  could  not  do  less  than  invite  the  donor  and  his  wife 
below,  where,  amongst  other  things,  I  showed  them 
some  dresses  and  weapons  from  the  Savage  Islands : 
the  former  of  these  differed  materially  in  cut  and  ma- 
terial, being  of  seals^  skins,  from  the  Winter  Island  cos- 
tume, and  of  course  excited  much  interest.     While  ex- 
amining these,  I  was  surprised  by  the  old  man^s  sud- 
denly rising,  and  exactly  imitating  the  cries  and  ges- 
tures of  pur  first  visitants,  and  afterwards  performing 
the  quiet  salutations  we  had  received  from  his  own 
tribe ;  this  he  did  in  so  marked  a  manner,  as  to  con- 
vince all  present  that  he  was  drawing  no  very  favoura- 
ble comparison  between  the  two.     1  now  learnt  thpt 
he  called  the  other  people  Khiad-ler-m!oo.     My  old 
friendsi^eing  dismissed,  1  received  a  visit  from  a  very 
comical  fellow,  the  smallest  of  the  tribe,  four  feet  ten 
ioches  in  height,  and  his  young  and  pretty  wife.    I  ob- 
tained a  tolerable  sketch  of  the  latter,  and  a  copy  also 
of  the  kakeen  on  her  arm  and  shoulder.     During  this 
I  time  she  frequently  blushed  deeply,  which  convinced 
me  that  these  people  have,  in  spite  of  their  otherwise 
rather  irregular  conduct,  an  innate  sense  of  modesty, 
as  far  as  regards  exhibiting  any  part  of  the  person.    In 
return  for  .(he  complaisance  of  my  visitors,  I  treated 
them  with  some  bread,  and  a  couple  of  mould  candles, 
of  nhich,  in  consequence  of  my  respect  for  the  lady, 
I  the  largest,  a  fine  six  to  the  pound,  became  her  share. 
[These  dainties  were  most  thankfully  received;  and 
Iwhen  Arn&-ldo-&  had  discussed  the  tallow,!  took  the 
Iwick  from  her  mouth,  lest  her  swallowing  it  also,  as 
|she  fully  intended  doing,  should  disagree  with  her. 
The  husband,  who  had  obtained,  in  addition  to  his  pro- 
per name  of  Kdo-i-lit-teQk,  or  great  coat,  that  of  th^ 
F'  Jealous  little  Man,''  appeared  to  have  some  cause  for 


,     > 


100 


A  VO£V  0AI7OHT* 


blushing,  to  cast  some  very  roguish  look«  on  the  party 
in  my  cabin;  from  this  t  found  the  correctness  of 
Crantz^s  statement,  that  "  the  Eskimaux  women  are  as 
well  skilled  in  the  language  of  the  eyes,  as  a  Turkish 
courtezan." 


'!l#' 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Wolf  caught — The  snuff-box — Seals  caught — Voracious  feeding- 
The  marines — Okotook  and  Uigliak — An  eclipse— Ayookitt- 
— Walrus  killed — The  thirteenth  wolf  killed— Charts  obtained 
— Journey  across  the  island— A  dance— Kettle  and  the  spirit* , 
Beef  stolen. 

The  people«^at  the  huts  slaughtered  three  dogs^ 
were  found  eating  scraps  of  skins.    On  receiring  thisl 
information,  we  instantly  sent  sufficiebt  bread-dust  to] 
afford  them  a  meal.  /ji 

On  the  10th  we  sent  them  a  further  sappfy,  addiojl 
to  it  the  carcass  of  a  wolf  killed  by  the  Fury.  Nol 
seals  were  caught ;  and  the  people  who  took  our  pro] 
visions  up,  reported  that  the  hunger  of  the  natives  wm] 
quite  voracious ;  yet  the  grown  people  first  supplied] 
all  the  children,  and  afterwards  ^vided  the  remaindei| 
in  equal  portions  amongst  themselves. 

On  the  night  of  the  1 1th,  a  wolf  was  cav^ht  in  a  trap,! 
set  by  Mr.  Oriffitlis,  and  after  being  to  all  appearanctj 
killed,  was  in  that  state  dragged  on  board.  Tbe  ejfal 
however,  as  it  lay  on  the  deck,  were  observed  to  wiokl 
whenever  any  object  was  placed  near  them :  somel 
precautions  were  therefore  considered  necessary ;  anol 
the  legs  being  tied,  the  animal  was  hoisted  up  with 
head  downwards.  He  then,  to  oor  surprise,  made  t| 
vigorous  spring  at  those  near  him ;  and  afterwards  re 
peatedly  turned  himself  upwards,  so  as  to  reach 
rope  by  which  he  was  suspended,  endeavouring  to  gnan 
it  asunder,  and  making  angry  snaps  at  the  persons  wiMJ 
prevented  him.    Several  heavy  blows  were  struck 


ffEAIiS   TAKEN. 


101 


the  baek  af  hi?  neck,  and  a  bayonet  was  put  through 
him,  yet  above  a  quarter  of  an  hour  elapsed  beiare  he 
died ;  having  completely  convinced  us  that  for  the  fu- 
ture, we  should  not  too  easily  trust  to  the  appearance 
of  death  in  animals  of  this  description. 

On  this  day  the  poor -Eskimaux  caught  two  seals,, 
which  were  equally  divided,  the  captors  merely  ap- 
propriating the  skins  in  addition  to-  their  regular  share. 

On^he  13th,  three  more  sealSi  were  takcm,  and  all 
past  miseries  were  forgotten,  in  the  enormous  feeding 
which  now  took  place.  Every  lamp  was  alight ;  and 
hoiling  and  stewing  went  on  with  great  spirit.  Kettle 
and  his  wife  brought  me  the  model  of  a  canoe,  paddles, 
&c.  which  I  had  commissioned  him  to  make;  and  in 
return  1  presented  him  with  an  axe,  which  was  receiv- 
ed with  such  raptures  by  his  wife,  as  almost  to  throw 
her  into  hysterics.  On  the  first  visits  of  the  Eskimaux, 
they  had  been  much  puzzled  to  account  for  all  thekab- 
loona  not  being  related  to  each  other,  as  they  them<- 
selves  were.  To  save  trouble,  therefore,  I  became  the^ 
father  of  every  body  ;  and,  as  my  cabin  was  the  lai^est, 
and  1  lived  by  myself,  they  all  believed  me  to  be  so; 
UQtil  at  length  some  of  my  adopted  children  were  found 
to  be  a  few  years  older  than  myself,  a  contradiction 
lyhich  Mrs.  Kettle,  who  was  most  indefatigable  in  hec  ■ 
ioquiries,  could  not  at  all  reconcile. 

The  coldness  of  the  14th,  although  it  confined  Us  to 
the  ships,  did  not  prevent  the  Eskimaux  from  coming 
down.  Oko^ook,  and  his  wite  Uigliak,  paid  me  a  vi- 
sit; and  on  my  exhibiting,  amongst  the  usual  articles 
of  show,  a  musical  snufi'-box,  they  took  it  for  granted 
that  it  must  be  the  child  of  my  small  hand-organ.  While 
listening  to  its  tunes,  they  frequently  repeated,  in  a  low 
tone,  the  word  In-nQa  (a  spirit),  with  great  emphasis, 
and  I  have  no  doubt  that  they  fancied  sdme  superior 
being  was  enshrined  in  the  instrument.  Oko-took  in- 
formed me  that  there  was  no  food  at  the  huts ;  yet  none 
of  the  men  were  in  search  of  seals,  but  were  carelessly 
lounginj  about  the  ships.  He  wore  a  medal  of  copper,, 
which  had  been  giveo  him  by  P&-ri,  with  the  shipaT 


.-* 


1  'i 


>    > 


102 


£EAP-VR06« 


w  L  ti 


'  A 1" 


'€ 

i'^ISkV 

' '  wl^ 

'i'fi^  • 

t-'  <; 

names  stamped  on  it;  and  other  medals  wef«  after- 
wards distributed,  in  the  hope  that  owing  to  the  wan- 
dering life  of  the  Eskimauz,  some  one  of  these  oma- 
ments  might,  through  our  factories,  reach  England  bc< 
fore  our  return. 

Our  huDgry  visitors  on  the  15th  were  no  sooner  fed, 
than  the  game  of  leap-frog  was  set  on  foot  by  our  sea- 
men. The  Eskimaux  having  no  id^a  of  jumping  in 
this  manner,  afforded  much  amusement.  The  younger 
men  took  such  over-leaps,  as  frequently  to  pitch  upon 
their  heads,  when,  with  great  uncoacem  and  much 
good  humour,  they  again  returned  to  the  game,  although 
the  blows  they  received  brought  the  water  into  their 
eyes.  The  general  mirth  was  not  less  excited  by  the 
effects  of  a  winch,  at  which  one  man  easily  mastered 
and  drew  towards  him  ten  or  twelve  others,  who  held 
by  a  rope,  using  all  their  strength,  and  grinning  with 
exertion  and  determination,  until  conquered;  when 
they  all  joined  in  their  usual  good-humoured  laugh. 
, Kettle,  who  was  ton  old  to  join  in  these  amusements, 
stood  by  with  some  other  veterans,  and  the  whole  par- 
ty laughed  until  the  tears  ran  down  their  cheeks.  Be- 
fore my  old  friend  went  away,  he  drank  nearly  two 
quarts  of  water  at  a  draught,  and  I  gave  him  some  dog's 
nesh  for  his  wife,  which  for  security  he  placed  between 
his  inner  boot,  and  the  naked  calf  of  his  dirty  leg.  To 
other  ladies  who  remained  at  home,  1  sent  a  few  choice 
candle  ends  by  their  husbands,  a  piece  of  civility  for 
which  I  afterwards  received  the  warmest  thanks. 

Two  of  our  friends  had  their  faces  fantastically  paint- 
ed with  water-colours,  which    afforded  them    much! 
amusement,  and  they  said  that  their  wives  would  noi 
know  them  again,  but  would  imagine  they  were   Kab- 1 
loona  women.    (A  pretty  compliment  to  our  fair  ladies  I 
at  home.)    To  ensure  patience  while  the  ornaments 
were  applied  by  candle-light,  we  treated  each  in  his 
turn  with  a  bite  of  the  lower  end,  until  our  ornaments  { 
and  candle  expired  together. 

On  the  16th,  I  was  rejoiced  to  find  that  the  seal  hun- 
ters hac^  been  successful;  blood,  blubber,  entrails,  skios, 


DBUOACIXI. 


103 


and  flesh,  lying  sociably  intermixed  in  sayoary  heaps. 
Abundant  smoking  messes  were  in  preparation,  and 
even  the  dogK  looked  happy  as  they  uninterruptedly 
licked  the  faces  of  the  children,  who  were  covered 
vvith  blood  and  grease  from  the  chin  to  the  eyes.  Uni- 
versal merriment  prevailed,  and  such  men  and  children, 
as  could  bear  more  food  stood  lounging  round  the  wo- 
men, who  sat  sucking  their  fingers,  and  cooking  as  fast 
as  possible.  While  the  messes  were  preparing,  the 
children  solaced  themselves  by  eating  such  parts  of  the 
raw  uncleaned  entrails  as  their  young  teeth  could  tear, 
and  those  morsels  which  proved  too  tough,  were  deli- 
vered over  to  their  mothers,  who  soon  reduced  them 
to  a  proper  size  and  consistency  for  their  tender  off- 
spring. 

While  witnessing  these  little  intermediate  repasts,  I 
learnt  a  new,  and  certainly  very  effectual  way  of  clean- 
iug  the  hands  of  children,  which  is  simply  by  intro- 
ducing  them  clenched  into  the  mouth  of  the  mother, 
who,  in  a  verj^  short  time,  by  the  assistance  of  her 
tongue,  renders  them  quite  as  they  should  be.  At  the 
distribution  of  the  contents  of  one  of  the  pots,  I  was 
complimented  with  a  fine  piece  of  half  stewed  seaFs 
flesh,  from  which  the  kind  donor,  a  most  unsavoury 
looking  old  lady,  had,  with  the  most  obliging  politeness, 
first  licked  the  gravy  and  dirt,  and  bitten  it  all  round  in 
order  to  ascertain  the  most  tender  part  on  which  I 
should  make  the  first  attack.  My  refusal  of  this  deli- 
cacy did  not  offend ;  and  we  had  much  laughing  on  the 
subject,  particularly  when  the  old  woman,  with  well- 
feigned  disgust,  and  many  wry  faces,  contrived  to  finish 
it  herself,  in  my  rambles  on  this  day  of  plenty,  I  found 
beyond  a  doubt,  that  the  women  do  not  eat  with  the 
men  ;  but  waiting  until  they  are  first  satisfied,  then  en- 
joy a  feast  bji»  themselves.  In  the  mean  time  however, 
the  females  who  superintend  the  cooking  have  the  pri- 
vilege of  licking  the  gravy  from  the  lumps  of  meat  as 
they  are  taken  out,  and  before  they  are  presented  to 
their  husbands.  Both  sexes  eat  in  the  same  manner, 
although  not  in  equal  proportions;  the  females)  very 


*.V.;' 


104 


JLMUBINO.  CHILD, 


hi" 

m 


nn 


III 


,,i 


teldom,  and  the  men  very  fi'eqaently  ttuffin^  until 
quite  stupifiedJ.  A  lump  of  meat  being  given  to  the 
nearest  person,  he  first  suclcs  it  all  rouud,  and  then 

J  lushes  as  much  as  he  can  into  his  mouth,  cutting  it 
rom  the  larger  piece  clone  to  his  lips,  to  the  great 
danger  of  them  and  of  his  nose.  The  meat  then  passes 
round  until  consumed,  and  the  person  before  whom  it 
stopped  is  entitled  to  the  first  bite  of  the  next  morsel. 
In  this  manner  a  meal  continues  a  long  time,  as  each 
eats,  or  rather  bolts  several  pounds,  and  the  pots  are 
in  consequence  frequently  replenished.  In  the  inter- 
mediate time,  the  convives  suck  their  fingers,  or  in- 
dulge in  a  few  lumps  of  delicate  raw  blubber.  The 
swallows  of  the  Eskimaux  are  of  such. marvellous  capa- 
city, that  a  piece  of  flesh  of  the  size  of  un  orange  very 
rarely  receives  half  a  dozen  bites  beiure  it  is  bolted, 
and  that  without  any  apparent  exertion.  The  rich  soup 
of  the  meat  is  handed  round  at  the  close  of  the  repast, 
and  each  takes  a  sup  in  turn,  until  it  is  finished^  when 
the  pot  is  passed  to  the  good  woman  of  the  house,  whe 
licks  it  carefully  clean,  and  thv<in  prepares  to  make 
a  mess  for  herself.  On  all  occasions  the  children 
are  stufled  almost  to  suffocation.  The  meals  being 
finished^  every  one  scrapes  the  grease,  &c.  from  his 
face  into  his  mouth,  and  the  fingers  are  then  cleaned 
by  sucking.  In  one  of  the  huts  a  most  lively  little 
boy,  of  about  four  years  of  age  challenged  me  to  dance^ 
and  began  singing  and  beating  his  drum,  which  he  ac- 
companied by  the  usual  caperiugs.  When  it  became 
my  turn  to  exhibit,  the  little  fellow  sat  with  the  greatest 
solemnity  to  witness  my  performance. 

AAer  we  were  both  well  tired,  Iwas  much  amused 
by  seeing  him  take  my  book  and  pencil,  with  which 
he  walked  to  every  person  in  the  hut,  and  gravely 
asking  their  names,  affected  to  write  them  down  a$ 
he  had  seen  me  do.  This  shrewd  boy  was,  in  my 
opinion,  the  ugliest  of  the  tribe ;  and  his  facet,  in  ad- 
dition to  excessive  dirt,  was  so  completely  shadowed 
by  long  and  tangled  hair,  that  he  could  scarcely  make 
use  of  his  eyes.    His  jacket  and  breeches  were  all  d*  I 


fllw^ 


THB  MABlHBfl* 


1&5 


one  piece,  of  the  skin  of  a  deer,  and  into  this  dress  be 
was  ushered  by  means  of  a  split  in  the  back.  He  wore, 
as  a  cap,  the  skin  of  a  fawn's  head,  ornamented  with 
tassels  at  the  edge,  haying  the  ears,  nose,  and  eye- 
holes complete,  so  that  when  viewed  from  behind  it 
was  ^arcely  possible  to  imagine  that  any  thing  human 
was  contained  in  so  wild  a  mirb.*  The  drum  of  which 
I  haye  spoken  is  formed  of  whalebone,  and  oyer  this  a 
thin  skin  or  bladder,  is  stretched.  It  is  played  on  by 
being  beat  on  the  lower  edge,  and  not  the  skin,  and 
sounds  like  a  bad  tambourine.  1  saw  two  only  of  these 
instruments,  bpth  of  .which  were  children*s  toys.  Re- 
turning on  board,  I  passed  scyen  wolycs,  which,  al- 
though it  was  open  day,  were  prowling  near  the  huts 
as  if  on  the  watch  for  the  dogs,    Mrs.  Kettle,  who  had 

Dtougut  me  a  pan  vi  g«w«».~,  «*«i»«u  ui«  wnu  nei*  Hus- 
band; and  after  they  had  sociably  eaten  a  couple  of 
candles  and  a  little  lip-aalye,  were  treated  with  a  sight 
of  some  prints  of  animals,  by  which  means  I  obtained 
the  names  of  seyeral,  as  they  instantly  recognized 
those  they  had  been  accustomed  to  see.  My  little 
black  cat  afforded  them  an  unceasing  fund  of  entertain- 
ttient,  although  a  long  time  elapsed  before  they  would 
yenture  to  touch  him  with  their  naked  hnnds.  When 
the  amimal  jumped  oyer  my  arms,  their  admiration 
was  expressed  by  slowly  and  forcibly  inhaling*  their 
breath,  and  quickly  nodding  the  head.  Some  lavender 
water  which  I  made  the  old  woman  sinell,  caused 
her  to  sneeze  as  if  she  had  taken  a  lat'ge  pinch  of 
snuff,  and  she  said  the  scent  was  M&m&it-pok  (very 
bad.) 

Kettle  was  on  this  day  constituted  a  medal  man, 
.  and  was  sent  away  much  pleased  with  his  ornament. 

The  17ih,  being  Sunday,  our  visitors  were  refused 
admittance  in  the  early  part  of  the  day,  and  when  we 
all  left  the  Hecla  to  attend  church  on  board  the  Fury, 
their  astonishment  was  unbounded  ;  never  having  seen 
us  in  regular  uniform,  but  generally  in  thick  great 

*  This  poor  little  fellow  was  drowned  at  Igioolikj  by  falling 
through  a  crack  in  the  ice. 


• 


t 


loe 


THE    8EBJEAVT. 


i  '. 


coats,  they  could  scarcely  recognize  even  their  parti- 
cular friends.  The  gay  appearance  of  the  marines, 
such,  even  in  this  climate^  is  the  attractive  influence  of 
a  red  coat,  so  deMghted  the  ladies,  that  they  all  danced 
and  shouted  in  an  ecstacy  of  pleasure  as  each  soldier 
passed  before  them. 

Togor-lftt,  Eewe-r&t  and  their  children,  with  Poo- 
tod&rloo  and  his  wives  paid  me  a  visit.  The  ladies 
were  all  highly  ornamented  by  the  hand  of  CaptalD 
Parry^  who  had  cased  their  pigtails  in  scarlet  cloth. 
Togorlat^s  little  child  Toben-rat  was  eiceedingly 
amusing  4  and  being  pulled  naked  out  of  her  mother^g 
hood  volunteered  to  dance.  With  her,  as  indeed  with 
ail  the  other  children,  I  observed  that  as  soon  as  the 
awe  at  first  excited  by  our  presence  had  worn  off,  they 
^doQot  allow  our  visits  to  intertere  with  their  sports; 
but,  4m  the  contrary,  often  performed  many  litle  tricks 
for  our  araiusemont. 

During  the  exhibition  of  M'obenrat^s  dancing,  I  ob> 
«erv-ed  the  eyes  of  the  elder  ladies  turned  with  great 
complacency  on  the  Serjeant  of  marines,  my  servant, 
who  being  in  his  best  jacket  excited  great  admiration. 
It  was  but  too  plain  that  1  shone  with  diminished 
rays  in  the  presence  of  so  brilliant  an  object ;  1  there* 
fore  made  a  determined  struggle  for  precedence,  and 
succeeded  to  my  wish  by  producing  a  flashy  coat  lined 
wiHb  yellow  baize,  and  once  worn  with  becoming  dig- 
nity by  Major  Sturgeon,  in  the  *^  Mayor  of  Garratt." 
Togorlat's  visit  was,  as  I  soon  found,  for  the  purpose 
df  entrusting  her  poor  idiot  son  to  my  charge,  io 
'Order  that  he  might  be  cured  and  fed.  The  mother 
was  evidently  distressed  by  my  refusul^  not  being  able 
to  understand  my  reasons  for  declining  such  a  task. 
In  addition  to  natural  imbecility  of  intellect,  the 
unfortunate  child  was  dumb ;  it  had  also  the  rickets, 
epileptic  fits,  and  a  very  unpleasant  squint.  Both  pa- 
rents were  extremely  attentive  to  the  poor  boy,  never 
losing  patience  with  him,  and  employing  very  mild 
ivords  to  direct  or  reprove  him.  Each  lady  having 
been  presented  with  a  bottle,  which  was  instantly 


our  seaoD 


-WOLF  TRAP. 


lor 


stowed  in  her  boot,  my  visiton  took  thdir  leave.  From 
some  of  our  gentlemen  who  were  at  the  huts  I  wai 
surprised  to  hear,  that  the  immense  store  of  flesh  which 
I  had  seen  on  the  preceding  day  was  entirely  consum- 
ed, and  that  every  one  complained  of  hunger,  although, 
on  a  mod«rate  average,  each  person  must  have  eaten 
tea  pounds  in  the  course  of  the  preceding  night.  A 
dog  having  been  carried  off  by  the  wolves,  a  trap  was 
set  close  to  the  huts.  This  contrivance  was  formed  of 
heavy  slabs  of  solid  ice,  having  a  ponderous  door 
or  portcullis,  of  the  same  material,  which  fell  in  a 
groove.  This  was  kept  up  by  means  of  a  string  passing 
along  the  top  of  the  structure,  and  carried  through  a 
hole  at  the  farthest  end,  where  it  was  fastened  to  a 
hoop  of  whalebone  which  bore  the  bait,  and  was  ilight- 
Ij  booked  under  a  projecting  piece  of  ice,  so  thai  when 
the  wolf  or  fox  pulled  the  meat,  the  hoop  flow  clear 
and  the  door  fell.  The  trap  was  so  low  and  narrow  as 
to  preclude  all  possibility  of  the  imprisoned  animal 
escaping,  so  that  he  could  be  easily  killed  as  he  lay. 
I  heard  this  evening  with  the  greatest  pleasure,  that 
our  seamen  had  agreed  amongst  themselves  in  a  most 
generous  determination  of  saving  a  daily  proportion  of 
their  provisions  to  assist  the  Eskimaux,  in  case  they 
should  again  be  reduced  to  the  same  miserable  state  of 
starvation  from  which  we  had  already  once  or  twice 
relieved  them.  In  all  cases  we  daily  issued  a  supply  of 
bread-dust  and  oil ;  and  I  frequently  saw  our  kind- 
hearted  men  adding  portions  of  their  allowance  of 
meat  for  those  who  were  most  distressed. 

Two  fine  seals  were  caught  on  the  18th,  and  one  of 
our  officers  was  at  the  opening  of  the  animals,  which 
was  numerously  attended  by  man  and  beast.  The 
fattest  parts  of  the  still  warm  entrails  were  given  to 
the  children,  and  the  grown  persons  then  selected  such 
morsels  as  suited  their  palates,  throwing  the  refuse  to 
the  dogs.  A  new  refinement  in  the  luxury  of  eating 
was  on  this  day,  and  very  frequently  afterwards,  ob- 
served,— this  happy  country  alone  affording  almost 
constant  raeins  of  procuring  it ;  which  was,  that  the 


I    > 


;^;\f- 


108 


TATTOSIire* 


children  f  maied  tbemMlyei  by  alloiring  Tarious  parti 
of  the  intestines  to  freeze  quite  crisp  Tore  they  nte 
them,  so  that  they  could  snap  them  off  in  lengths  with 
their  teeth,  as  our  English  youngsters  despatch  barley- 
sugar. 

On  the  19th  Togorlat  and  her  mother  Il-ydo-mil 
brought  me  some  little  figures  of  Esklmaux  very  neatly 
made  and  clothed,  the  characters  and  shapes,  particu. 
larly  of  the  women,  being  eiceedingly  well  kept  up, 
Togorlat  employed  half  an  hour  in  sewincfa  pattern  on 
my  arm,  and  the  old  woman  was  i>n\i.\o}ed  by  Mr, 
Bird  in  the  same  manner.  I  soon  howr.ve.  uund  fron 
the  loquacity  of  this  ancient  lady,  ind  hei'  patient's 
ejaculatory  ohs!  that  she  wir:  extreme ijr  careless,  and 
gave  greater  pain  than  wis  (.eoessary,  while  with  bar- 
barous indifference  she  stitctied  awny  ae  if  it  was  an  old 
shoe  she  was  operating  on.  My  lady  was  more  expert, 
and  completed  a  very  pretty  pattern;  but  poor  Mr. 
Bird,  after  all  his  sufferings,  discovered  from  the 
crookedness  of  the  lines,  that  (l-yoo-mea  was  more  than 
half-blind,  and  as  the  marks  were  indelible,  there  was  | 
no  remedy. 

Amongst  numerous  visitors  on  this  day  were  several  | 
children,  who»3  rosy  appearance  was  quite  delightful. 
Many  of  them  had  not  yet  been  weaned,  though  above  | 
three  years  of  9ge,  which  was  a  most  providential  cir- 
cwDStance ;  since  the  rank  and  coarse  food  eaten  by  | 
the  grown>up  persons  would  have  ill  suited  their  palate 
or  stomach,  and  the  Inreasts  of  their  mothers  could  alone 
have  saved  their  lives  during  Uie  three  or  four  days' 
starvation  to  which  they  were  recently  exposed.    Had 
they  been  weaned,  they  must  all  have  fallen  a  sacrifice 
to  the  improvidence  and  waste  of  their  parents.   Kettle,  | 
In  his  U8ra.!l  merry  way,  gave  me  a  great  deal  of  iofor- 
mation  rAiHpectfn^v  the  mann^'r  of  killing  deer  aaif  beanl 
in  the  r!^t^^,.4i. company ing  liis  description  by  mostj 
admirable  pantomiine,  in  which  these  people  can  con- 
vey a  great  deal  of  meaning.    I  shall  at  a  futura  page] 
have  occaiioD  to  mention  the  pursuits  above  aamed. 
Okotook,  and  liis  iptelligent  wife;lUgUak,  paid  i 


OKOTOOK  AND   IlIOLIAK. 


109 


a  viaitf  and  from  them  I  obtained  the  names  of  many 
birds  and  animaN,  by  showing  specimens  and  drawings. 
Their  little  boy,  an  ugly  and  stupid-looking  young  glut- 
ton, flHtonished  me  by  the  aptitude  with  which  he  imi- 
tated tho  cries  of  each  creature  as  it  was  exhibited. 
The  young  ducks  answering  the  distant  call  of  their 
mother,  had  nil  the  effect  of  ventriloquism;  indeed, 
every  sound,  from  the  angry  growl  of  a  bear  to  the 
sharp  hum  of  a  moskitoe,  was  given  in  a  wonderful 
manner  by  this  hoy.  While  obtaining  the  names  of 
several  trifles,  I  accidentally  showed  some  articles  we 
bad  procured  from  the  natives  of  the  Savage  Islands, 
when  Okotook  rose  and  imitated  their  cries  with  the 
same  marks  of  contempt  as  had  before  been  shown  by 
Kettle.  Some  of  these  toys  were  now  compared  with 
others  we  had  received  from  his  own  tribe,  and  Iligliak 
examined  the  sewing  and  fashion  of  their  clothes,  all 
of  which  objects  they  immediately  turned  into  ridicule ; 
and  1  saw  that  national  pride,  which  is  said  to  exist  in 
all  savages  in  an  eminent  degree,  was  very  evident  in 
these  poor  people,  who  considered  the  Shiad-lermi-oo 
as  barbarians  in  comparison  with  themselves,  Okotook 
appearing  extremely  indignant  at  being  asked  if  he 
was  one  of  them.  During  their  visit  i  frequently  observ- 
ed this  couple  take  each  other  by  the  hand,  and  particu- 
larly while  their  attention  was  engaged  by  a  book  of 
engravings.  This  I  attributed  to  mutual  affection  be- 
tween man  and  wife,  and,  contrary  to  the  existing  re- 
ports of  these  Indians,  i  felt  convinced  that  the  women 
were  really  treated  with  great  tenderness,  and  that 
they  loved  their  husbands.  I  found  a  most  joyous  set 
of  countenances  on  deck,  in  consequence  of  some  seals 
having  been  caught ;  yet  although  a  plentiful  breakfast 
had  without  doubt  been  made  at  the  huts,  not  a  grain 
of  the  usual  allowance  of  bread-dust  was  allowed  to  l)e 
jleft  behind.  3y  way  of  balance  to  their  good  fortune 
Id  sealing,  a  fine  dog  was  lost  in  the  afternoon.  The 
animal  had  strayed  to  the  hummocks  a-head  of  us  with- 
lout  its  master,  and  Mr.  Elder,  who  was  near  to  the 
Ispot,  saw  five  wolves  rush  out,  attack,  and  devour  it  Is 
10 


(    Sij 


J- 


110 


ATOKITT. 


■5 ,.:  ' 


an  incredibly  short  space  of  time ;  before  he  could 
reach  the  place  the  carcass  was  torn  in  pieces,  and  he 
found  only  the  lower  part  of  one  leg.  The  boldness 
of  the  wolves  was  altogether  astonishing,  as  they  were 
almost  constantly  seen  from  the  ships  during  the  day- 
time prowling  amongst  the  hummocks,  or  lying  qaietly 
at  no  great  distance  in  wait  for  dogs.  From  all  we  ob- 
served, I  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that  they  would 
attack  a  single  unarmed  man,  both  English  and  Eski- 
maux  frequently  passing  them  without  even  a  stick  in 
their  hands;  the  animals,  however,  exhibited  no  symp- 
toms of  fear,  but  rather  a  kind  of  tacit  agreement  not 
to  be  the  beginners  of  a  quarrel ;  even  though  they 
might  have  been  certain  of  proving  victorious. 

An  eclipse  of  the  sun  took  place  in  the  afternoon, 
while  a  number  of  Eskimaux  were  on  board.  They 
appeared  much  alarmed,  and  with  one  accord  hurried 
out  of  the  ship.  Before  they  were  all  on  the  ice  a 
brisk  squall  came  on,  and  added  not  a  little  to  their 
tprrors.  Okotook  ran  wildly  about  under  the  stern, 
gesticulating  and  screaming  to  the  sun,  while  the  others 
gazed  on  it  in  silence  and  dread.  The  corporal  of 
marines  found  two  of  the  natives  lying  prostrate  with 
their  faces  to  the  ice  quite  panic-struck.  We  learned 
that  the  eclipse  was  called  sbiek-e-nek  (the  sun)  tooni- 
lik-p&. 

Hearing  that  a  piece  of  iron  bolt  and  a  tin  funnel 
had  been  missed  from,  the  deck,  on  making  inquiry, 
some  of  the  Eskimaux,  and  espt<ually  Ka-wun-gut,  the 
father  of  Uigliak,  accused  Kettle,  who  was  absent,  of  j 
the  theft.  Ayokitt,  who  sat  with  me  for  some  time, 
amused  himself  by  drawing  men,  animals,  boats,  &c.  in 
so  curious  and  ingenious  a  manner,  as  to  determine  me 
on  treasuring  his  productions.  In  the  animals  there  was 
one  striking  peculiarity,  which  consisted  in  having  both 
eyes  on  the  same  side  of  the  head.  As  my  friend  had 
been  very  attentive  to  some  officers  who  slept  at  his 
brother's,  1  was  glad  of  an  opportunity  of  repaying  his 
kindness,  by  inviting  him  to  sleep  on  board,  which  he 
gladly  acceded  to,  and  having  divested  himself  of  his 


'(III 


ATOKITT. 


Ill 


outer  coat,*washed  his  face  and  hands,  by  my  positive 
order,  and  made  himself  look  decent,  he  drew  a  chair, 
and  joined  an  evening  party  round  the  fire.  Coffee 
and  gingerbread  were  given  him,  and  he  drank  and  ate 
with  a  very  resigned  countenance,  as  if  he  was  taking 
them  medicinally.  He  tried  to  smoke  a  segar,  but 
failed,  to  his  great  mortification,  for  it  was  evident  that 
he,  as  well  as  many  other  of  his  countrymen,  was  par- 
tial to  the  smell  of  it.  After  all  other  attempts  to 
please  the  palate  of  my  guest  had  been  equally  fruit- 
less, he  succeeded  to  admiration  with  about  3lbs.  of  the 
fat  of  pork,  a  proportionate  quantity  of  bread-dust,  and 
a  quart  of  water.  Having  taught  him  to  snuff  my  can- 
dle, and  to  stir  the  fire,  to  commit  all  the  little  animals 
he  might  catch  to  the  flames,  instead  of  his  mouth,  and 
to  avoid  a  few  other  Eskimaux  habits,  we  sociably  sat 
down  to  look  over  Rees's  Cyclopedia,  and  to  examine 
the  plates,  amongst  which  those  of  horses  were  the 
most  incomprehensible  to  him,  especially  after  1  had 
succeeded  in  explaining  that  w«  rode  on  them.  These 
he  distinguished  by  the  name  of  T66k-t6o,  or  rein- 
deer, and  all  insects  were  Tak-ka-likki-taa,  or  but- 
terflies. 

The  worst  compliment  of  all  was  paid  to  the  poor 
Kabloona,  or  Europeans,  as  in  two  instances  he  gave 
that  appellation  to  crabs,  and  once  to  a  very  lively 
party  of  frogs !  In  the  course  of  the  evening,  he  told 
a  long  story  about  the  eclipse,  which  he  said  had  been 
frightened  away  by  Okotook ;  and  that  all  the  Innu 
were  much  alarmed,  with  the  exception  of  himself, 
but  that  seeing  we  were  not  frightened,  he  was  very 
brave,  and  laughed,  disdaining  to  fall  on  his  face,  and 
say  ya-whooi !  He  spoke  with  great  anger  of  the  theft 
which  had  been  committed,  accusing  Kettle  as  the  thief, 
and  afterwards  calling  over  his  own  family  on  his  fing- 
ers, adding  after  each  name,  and  with  emphasis,  "  not 
a  thief."  The  poor  fellow  being  of  a  lively  disposi- 
tion, was  pleased  with  all  my  attempts  to  amuse  him, 
and  seemed  to  consider  me  a  very  great  ^^  annatko," 
or  wizard ;  but  had  any  Europeans  seen  me  making 


'Mm 


I' 


1  .1 


If-. 


iJ  'h 


112 


ATOKITT. 


feces,  they  would  have  decided  that  I  was  « no  con- 
juror."   To  every  object  whose  use  and  formation  he 
could  not  comprehend,  he  applied  indiscriminately  the 
same  name ;  and  the  chronometers  excited  more  than 
ordinary  exclamations  of  surprise,  from  his  fancying 
they  were  alive.     At  about  nine  o^clock  he  was  com- 
pletely tired  out,  yet  was  with  great  difficulty  prevail- 
ed  on  to  lie  down  before  my  fire ;  where  he  soon  began 
snoring  and  dreaming,  frequently  muttering  words  as 
he  slept.     He  awakened  me  so  early  on   the  morning 
of  the  23d,  that  in  self-defence  1  was  obliged  to  get  up 
and  answer  the   numerous  questions  he    put   to   me, 
while  at  the  same  time  he  was  busily  assisting  to  brush 
my  clothes,  and  to  put  the  cabin  in  order.     Having 
shaved  myself,  1  performed  the  same  operation  on  him, 
and  afterwards  superintended  at  a  fine   warm  water 
washing,  to  which  he  was  subjected,  and  which  altered 
his  complexion  to  such  a  degree,  that  on   looking  in  a 
glass  and  examining  his  hands  and  arms,  he  repeatedly 
exclaimed,  he  was  not  Ayokitt,  but  a  Kabloona.     On 
his  back   and  right  arm  I  observed  three   very  large 
and  deep  scars,  made,  as  he  said,  by  a  she-bear,  which 
with  her  two  cubs  he  had   attacked,  and  killed.     The 
animaPs  tusks  must  have  met  on  his  arm,  the  point  of 
the  smaller  teeth  being  visible  between   them.     Hav- 
ing made  a  plentiful  breakfast,  and  being  enriched  by 
a  present  of  a  boarding  pike,  on  which  the  ship's  names 
and  date  of  the  year  were  studded  with  small  nails,  ray 
visitor  took  his  leave.     His  mother  soon  afterwards 
came  and  gave  me  abundant  koo-yen-a's,  or  thanks,  for 
my  attentioi^  to  him,  and  for  the  boarding  pike,  in  par- 
ticular. 

Three  seals  were  killed  on  the  24th,  one  of  which 
was  found  to  be  with  young.  The  little  ib-liau,  or 
foetus,  was  covered  with  very  fine  hair,  resembling 
raw  silk  in  colour.  The  man  to  whom  it  belonged 
could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  skin  it,  as  he  intended 
to  make  a  delicate  feast  on  its  flesh. 

i  observed  on  this  as  on  former  occasions,  that  the 
heads  of  the  seals  being  first  parboiled,  were  «lway$ 


OLD  KETTLE. 


113 


given  to  the  children.  Some  of  the  men  were  making 
little  ivory  models  of  spears,  and  1  now  observed  that 
this  material  was  cut  by  coqtinual  chopping  with  a 
knife,  one  end  of  the  ivory  resting  on  a  sofl  stone, 
which  served  as  a  block.  To  smooth  and  polish  the 
work  when  finished,  a  gritty  stone  is  used  as  a  file,  and 
kept  constantly  wetted  with  saliva.  In  Iligliak's  hut  I 
saw  a  large  bag  entirejy  composed  of  the  skins  of  sal- 
mon, neatly  and  even  ornamentally  sewed  together.  I 
found  Togorlat  dressing  two  very  dirty  little  dolls  for 
me,  but  as  she  had  made  them  of  her  own  accord,  and 
intended  them  as  a  present,  I  had  not  the  conscience 
to  find  fault  with  her  performance.  Close  to  where 
she  sat,  I  observed  a  hole  in  the  snow  entirely  filled 
with  hair,  which  she  told  me  was  the  combings  of  her 
head,  and  endeavoured  to  explain  her  reasons  for 
keeping  so  strange  a  mess :  I  failed  in  comprehending 
what  she  said,  but  from  her  manner  was  convinced 
that  there  was  some  superstition  attached  to  her  hoard. 
Her  sick  boy  had  a  severe  fit  during  my  stay,  from 
which  1  recovered  him  by  splashing  him  with  snow 
water,  to  the  great  amazement  of  his  mother,  to  whom 
1  explained,  as  well  as  I  was  able,  the  efficacy  of  such 
treatment  during  the  attacks.  The  poor  woman  gave 
me  many  thanks,  and  appeared  to  attend  very  earnestly 
to  my  instructions. 

On  first  arriving  at  the  village,  old  Kettle  had  beck- 
oned me  to  come  to  his  hut,  but  I  had  refused,  telling 
him  at  the  same  time  that  he  was  a  thief.  When  1 
was  going  away,  however,  I  observed  a  child  who  was 
stationed  on  the  look-out,  run  in  to  inform  him  of  it, 
and  I  had  not  proceeded  far  when  he  came  hallooing 
after  me,  very  thinly  clad,  and  in  great  agitation.  He 
brought  a  tin  pot  and  a  piece  of  iron  to  assist  in  his  ex- 
planation, and  vehemently  demanded  who  had  accused 
him  of  robbing  me.  Kawungul  was  no  sooner  named, 
with  others  of  Okotook's  family,  than  the  old  man's 
rage  became  excessive,  and  he  talked  or  rather  vocife- 
rated in  such  a  high  key,  as  to  convince  me  that  he 
>yas  abusing  them  all.  As  i  understood  a  few  words  q£ 
10  * 


# 


♦    ■ 


IS  f  L  I 

'  I  fit,  I    i 


114 


WALBVS  KI££ED. 


hiB  defence,  and  was  already  disposed  to  believe  him 
innocent,  we  shook  hands,  and  each  making  a  long 
ifnd  equally  unintelligible  speech,  patted  as  good 
friends  as  ever. 

The  Eskimauz  had  been  complaining  for  some  days 
of  the  ravages  of  the  wolves,  which,  besides  wounding 
and  killing  their  dogs,  had  destroyed  a  sledge  of  skin, 
and  torn  and  devoured  the  covering  of  a  kpyak.  Tliey 
had  also  repeatedly  entered  the  passages  into  the  huts, 
when  the  dog^  were  confined  there. 

it  having  been  supposed  that  a  boarding  pike  had 
%een  stolen,  an  officer  and  some  nien  were  sent  to  the 
huts  to  search  for  it,  but  they  received  a  most  ungra- 
cious reception  from  the  ladies  in  particular,  who  loudlj 
declared  thtit  all  the  kabloona  were  thieves,  who  had 
stolen  their  clothes,  the  weapons  of  their  husbands, 
and  every  thing  they  had;   and  that  amongst  other  I 
valuables  we  had  rubbed  them  of  all  their  stone  t)ots.  I 
While  this  outcry  was  going  on,  these  poor  creatures 
seemed  quite  unconscious  that  they  sat  surrounded  by 
presents  of  all  descriptions,  which  had  been  abundantly 
heaped  on  them,  and  for  some  of  which  they  had  ea- 
gerly proffered  their  goods.     This  quarrel  confirmed 
me  in  an  opinion  I  was  very  unwilling  to  admit,  thai  I 
when  seaPs  flesh  and  oil  for  the  lamps  were  abundant, 
no  one  cared  for  us,  or  for  the  provisions  we  had  given  I 
ihem ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  a  day  of  famine  ren- 
dered them  altogether  as  grateful.     I  should  not  state  I 
this  want  of  proper  feeling,  had  we  not  gradually  been 
led  to  remark  it;  for,  where  people  possess  so  few 
bad  qualities,  and  so  many  good  ones,  it  is  painful  to 
be  obliged  to  discover  faults.     A  wolf  was  caught,  anill 
another  shot  from  the  ship,  during  the  two  last  days. 

We  heard,  for  the  first  time,  of  a  walrus  having  been  I 
killed,  and  I  joined  a  party  to  go  and  see  it ;  but  to  our 
:fl«at  disappointment  we  found  only  large  junks  of  its 
^esh  and  skin.  All  the  men  were  in  a  state  of  stupidiij, 
resembling  intoxication,  from  excess  of  eating.  The 
women  were  rather  better  conditioned.  I  inquired 
every  where  for  the  head  of  the  walrus,  for  which  1 


XLLITESB  07  THE  NATIVES. 


US 


offered  a  knife,  but  could  get  no  ioformatioa  about  it, 
until  in  Okotook'a  hut  i  soon  discovered  by  tbe  solkip 
ness  of  the  men  that  some  one  whom  they  disliked  had 
been  successful,  and  afterwards  found  I  was  not  incor- 
rect in  supposing  it  to  be  Kettle  who  had  killed  the 
animal.  All  the  family  agreed  in  saying,  that  the  head 
had  been  thrown  into  the  sea,  which  I  fully  believed, 
supposing  it  was  so  disposed  of  from  some  superstitious 
motive,  as  being  the  first  killed  in  this  season  ;  but  no 
sooner  was  my  knife  produced,  than  the  memory  of 
ray  friends  took  an  extraordinary  turn,  and  it  was  re- 
collected that  the  head  was  somewhere  on  shore,  and 
that  it  would  be  brought  to  me. 

Captain  Parry  had  a  shooting  match  on  the  ice. 
The  mark  was  a  spear  at  thirty  paces  distant,  and, 
amongst  some  good  shots,  an  arrow  was  lodged  deep  in 
the  wood,  for  which  the  marksman  received  a  knife  as 
the  prize.     Three  bows  were  broken  in  the  contest. 

Dnring  the  last  two  or  three  days,  the  natives  had 
suffered  severely  from  coughs  and  colds,  owing  to  the 
thawing  and  incessant  dropping  from  their  huts,  which 
during  the  recent  abundance  of  food  had  been  over- 
heated by  lamps,  and  rendered  so  rotten,  that  in  one 
of  them  a  woman,  who  was  clearing  the  snow,  fell 
through  the  roof.  I  walked  out  to  visit  the  invalids, 
and  found  them  even  worse  than  I  had  expected  ;  some 
had  lost  their  voice,  and  a  few  of  the  most  talkative 
women  were  so  hoarse  as  to  render  speaking  painful. 
One  poor  man  was  bleeding  in  a  stream  from  the  nose, 
and  had  an  intlamed  throat,  both  as  I  suspected  from 
excessive  gluttony.  I  r^^commended  a  dry  sleeping 
place,  and  a  few  other  simples  to  the  sufferer,  and  in  a 
short  time  had  abundance  of  patients,  to  whom  I  pre- 
scribed hot  water,  plenty  of  sleep  and  very  little  food ; 
and  I  have  no  doubt  the  two  first  clauses  were  strictly 
attended  to,  in  consequence  of  inattention  to  the  third 
The  flesh  heaps  on  most  of  the  floors,  discovered  to 
me  that  one  or  two  other  walruses  had  been  killed, 
and  even  the  dogs  had  their  full  allowance,  which  had 
made  them  very  bold  and  surly,  several  instances  oc- 
curring of  their  coming  behind  and  biting  people. 


M 


I  At 


'Si*' 


l¥i 


;::|-:    ^ 


116 


CHARTS  OBTAIKED. 


Having  on  all  former  visits  observed  their  excessive 
tinddity  i  I  am  led  to  suppose  that  hunger  a£fects  Eskimanx 
dogs  differently  from  others  of  their  species,  as  when 
almost  starved  they  are  fearful  as  hares,  and  when  well 
fed  acquire  courage ;  whereas  we  know  that  to  make 
an  English  dog  savage,  he  is  kept  in  poor  condition.  A 
few  of  the  younger  men  were  occupied  in  rebuilding 
and  repairing  the  snow  houses  during  a  heavy  gale  and 
drift,  which  came  on  before  we  returned,  but  they  re- 
marked that  they  had  eaten  too  much  to  be  sensible  of 
the  cold. 

On  the  5th,  the  last  of  the  thirteen  wolves  was 
caught  in  a  trap  made  by  some  of  our  officers  in  imita- 
tion of  those  used  by  the  natives.  The  poor  Eskiroaui 
were  now  relieved  from  a  grievous  plague,  which  it 
appeared  had  followed  them  all  along  the  coast ;  and 
their  thanks  were  warmly  given  on  seeing  the  last  of 
their  tormentors  hanging  under  our  stern. 

During  the  last  ievf  days  we  had  been  most  agreea- 
bly employed  in  obtaining  charts  of  the  countries 
around  us,  from  Iligliak,  and  Eewerat,  who  were  our 
hydrographers,  and  appeared  to  enter  into  our  ideas 
with  great  spirit  and  judgment.  In  all  essential  points 
our  two  informants  agreed  extremely  well.  I  was  for 
some  time  incredulous  as  to  their  knowledge  of  the 
position  of  the  cardinal  points  of  the  compass,  conceiy- 
ing  that  a  people  who,  for  weeks  or  months,  (accord- 
ing to  the  part  of  the  coast  they  are  living  on)  do  not 
see  the  sun,  and  again  for  the  same  time  have  it  con- 
tinually above  the  horizon,  could  have  no  idea  of  the 
east  or  west,  which  we  Europeans  misname  the  points 
of  the  sun's  rising  or  setting.  I  was  ultimately  con- 
vinced of  my  error,  and  from  many  concurring  circum- 
stances was  led  to  suppose  that  the  stars,  and  particu- 
larly the  constellation  Ursa  Major,  were  their  chief 
guides  in  this  respect. 

After  a  time,  our  hydrographers  on  sitting  down  to 
mark  a  chart,  invariably  commenced  by  making  four 
dots  on  the  paper,  and  pointing  them  out  as  the  posi- 
tions by  which  the  trending  of  the  coast  was  to  be  re- 


FHII.080FHT  OF  THE  NATTTS8. 


117 


gnlated.  The  sum  of  our  information  was,  that  an  ex- 
tensive sea  eiisted  to  the  northward,  and  was  open  in 
the  summer;  and  that  in  this  sea  were  several  islands, 
on  which  the  Eskimanx  resided,  either  as  fixed  settle- 
meDts,  or  for  a  time  daring  their  journeys  along  the 
coast,  which  were  performed  chiefly  ouer  the  ice  be- 
fore the  sea  opened.  The  two  principal  islands  were 
called  Amit-jrook  and  Ig-loo-lik,  and  were  the  birth- 
places of  the  greater  part  of  our  winter  acquaintance. 
We  acquired  by  degrees  other  inlbrmation^  which  I 
shall  hereafter  state.  I  may  here  mention,  that  Ke- 
pulse  Bay  is  the  place  distinguished  by  the  name  of 
I  Ay-(vee-lik,  and  is  also  a  settlement  of  importance. 

On  the  13th,  nearly  all  the  women  came  m  a  body 
to  the  ships,  complaining  t^t  they  had  neither  food 
Inorfire  at  home.     We  relieved  them  as  well  as  was  in 
I  our  power;  and,  attended  by  a   large   company,  I  ac- 
companied them  again  to  the   huts,  Togorlat  hanging 
on  one  arm,  and  llyoomeea  (her  mother)  on  the  other^ 
in  imitation  of  what    they    were    told    the    Kabloona 
women  were  accustomed   to  do.     Our    walk    was,  aa 
usual,  enlivened   by   songs  ;  and   the  poor  thoughtless 
(creatures,  who  but  an  hour  before  were  in  an  excess 
[of  misery,  were  now  the  gayest  of  the  gay.     So  singu- 
llarly  happy   is  the  disposition   of  the   Eskimaux,  that 
hvhen  their  wants  are  for  a  moment  relieved,  they  for- 
Igetthat  they  have  ever  suffered  from  hunger,  or  that 
llhey  may  on  the  morrow  be  again  in  the  same  dis- 
[tress.    We  found  some  of  the  young  women  at  home, 
land  one  man  only  with  them ;  this  was  old  Ik-kia-  ra, 
Iwho  had  been  for  some  time  in  such  a  state  as  to  make 
jus  suppose  he  could  not  outlive  the  winter.     His  con- 
Btant  posture  was  lying  on  his  face  between  two  deer 
Bkins ;  where    he  coughed  and  groaned   unceasingly, 
without  exciting  compassion  from  any  one  of  his  coun- 
try-people,  except   his  son  Il-wi-shuk.   *  The   ladies 
saving  no  one  to  kec  p  them  in  order,  were  all  re- 
larkably  frisky,  and  continued  running  and  screaming 
Trom  hut  to  hut,  like  wild  creatures ;  their  mothers, 
Wwever,  did  not  quite  approve  this  conduct,  and  fr6- 


i# 


■li'i 


118 


PREPABATIOiyS    7CB   A  JOUBNET 


*.;*' 


quently  told  them  to  be  quiet ;  which  had  the  same 
effect  on  them  as  a  similar  injunction  would  have  had 
on  a  party  ot  young  English  romps ;  the  girls  taking 
every  opportunity  of  quizzing  the  old  women,  wheDev- 
er  they  could  do  so  unobserved. 

The  preparations  for  a  journey  to  explore  the  coast 
were  all  completed  by  the  14th.  Two  sledges  were 
to  carry  twenty  days'  provisions,  and  a  skin  boat ;  alt 
of  which,  with  knapsacks  and  a  tent,  we  purposed  to 
drag.  Our  load  was,  however,  found  too  heavv  for 
us ;  but  it  was  determined  to  make  trial  rf  the  largest 
sledge  for  three  days,  in  order  to  exami  i  the  land 
near  the  ships ;  and  if  the  contrivance  answered,  we 
should  still  have  time  sufficient  for  our  long  -ouiney. 
The  day  was  remarkablv  «fine,  and,  forgetting  hat  we 
had  ever  read  Esop's  Fables,  it  was  agreed  that  this 
^^  one  swallow'^  was  to  be  the  sign  of  spring. 

On  the  15th  of  March,  we  proceeded  towards  the 
hills  to  the  northward  of  our  winter-quarters.  A 
^strong  wind  arose  soon  after  our  starting,  and  increas- 
ed to  a  heavy  gale  ;  the  utmost  view  was  bounded  to 
twenty  yards,  and  every  time  of  resting  to  take  breath, 
we  all  received  severe  frost  bites.  At  ten,  we  ar> 
rived  at  a  quantity  of  grounded  ice,  directed  by  which, 
we  made  our  way  round  the  head  of  a  bay,  and  reach- 
ed  the  side  of  a  small  hill  a  little  after  eleven.  The 
extreme  severity  of  the  weather  determined  me  on 
pitching  our  tent,  and  waiting  until  we  could  from  the 
rising  ground  command  a  view  of  our  future  route. 
When  the  tent  had  been  pitched  an  hour,  and  our 
party  had  put  on  additional  clothing,  and  were  all 
smoking,  to  promote  warmth,  the  temperature  at  our 
feet  only  stood  at  one  degree  below  zero,  and  ovei 
head,  amongst  the  smoke,  at  seven  degrees  above :  io 
the  outer  air  it  was  —  5°  ;  which,  although  of  itself| 
sufficiently  cold,  was  rendered  doubly  piercing  by  the 
strength  of  the  wind.  The  longer  we  sat,  the  colder 
we  became,  in  spite  of  all  our  car«.  A  deep  bole 
being  dug  in  the  snow,  I  found  that  it  would  be  possi- 
ble^  b^  eitending  our  excavatioos,  to  make  a  cavenj 


ACB0S8  THE   ISLAND. 


119 


10  which  we  mig^ht  pass  the  night ;  .^r  it  would  have 
been  next  to  impossible  to  have  continued  in  the  tent. 
Some  of  the  men  were  therefore  immediately  set  to 
work,  and  had  so  good  an  opportunity  of  warming 
themselves,  that  our  only  shovel  was  lent  from  one  to 
the  other  as  a  particular  favour.  By  four  p.  m.  our 
cavern  was  finished,  and  of  sufficient  size  to  contain  us 
all  in  a  sitting  posture.  Making  a  fire,  we  managed 
by  its  smoke,  which  had  no  vent,  to  rai^ie  the  tem- 
perature to  -f  20°  ;  while  outside,  it  had  fallen  to  — 
25°.  We  now  cleaned  our  clothes  as  well  as  possible 
Ifroro  the  thick  coating  of  sno*v-drift,  and  »non  felt 
Icomparatively  comfortable,  in  a  temperature  of-)-  15°, 
|to  which  our  air  in  the  cave  had  fallen  by  eight  p.  m.  ; 
[when  closing  the  entrance  with  blocks  of  snow,  we 
crept  into  our  blanket-bags,  and  huddled  close  to- 
gether, to  endeavour  to  procure  a  little  sleep.  Our 
small  dwelling  had  a  very  oppressive  feel ;  and  our 
uneasiness  was  not  a  little  augmented  by  the  reflec- 
jtion,  that  a  spade  alone  could  liberate  us  again  after  a 
night's  drift  of  snow ;  our  roof  being  two  feet  thick, 
Eiad  not  of  the  most  secure  description  had  a  tolerable 
chance  of  breaking  down  on  us ;  in  which  case,  con- 
Sned  as  we  were  in  our  bags,  and  lying  almost  upon 
Each  other,  we  should  have  had  no  power  of  ever  ex- 
|ricating  ourselves. 

At  daylight  on  the  16th,  we  found  the  temperature 
kt  +  26°  until  we  dug  out  the  entrance,  when  it  fell 
|o  -j-  15°  ;  while  outside,  it  was  —  25°. 

At  9  A.  M.  the  gale  was  unabated,  the  weather  and 
Irift  continuing  as  severe  as  ever.  The  tent  was  half 
juried  in  the  snow ;  and  I  therefore  set  ^11  hands  to 

rork  at  digging  out  the  sledge  ;  but  it  was  so  deeply 
lunk,  that  we  could  not  reach  it,  and  in  the  attempt 
W  faces  and  extremities  were  most  painfully  frost- 
litten.  With  all  these  difficulties  before  us,  Mr. 
|almer  and  myself  consulted  together  as  to  whether  it 

irould  be  most  prudent  to  endeavour  to  pass  another 
[igbt  in   our   present   precarious  situation,  or,  while 

ye  were  yet  able  to  walk,  to  make  an  attempt  to 


f 


fli 


m 


i\M 


r^", 


.'I'jl-*' 


ISO 


A  JOUBHET 


.;fflv^' 


m  ■■■-■   . 
mi'    ■ 


reach  the  ships,  which  we  supposed  were  about  sii 
miles  from  us.    We  cculd  not  see  a  yard  of  our  road, 
yet  to  remain  appeared  worse  than  to  go  forward ;  the 
last  plan  was   therefore  decided  on.      Haying  placed 
all  our  luggage  in  the  tent,  and  erected  a  small  flag 
over  it,  we  set  out,  carrying  a  few  pounds  of  bread,  a 
little  rum,  and  a  spade.     The  wind  now  being  in  our 
backs,  we   walked  very  briskly,  and  having  an  occa. 
sional  glimpse  of  a  very  faint  sun  through  the  drift, 
managed  to  steer  a  tolerable  course,  but  evidently  not 
over  the  same  land  as  on    the    preceding   day.     We 
ascended  one   gentle  acclivity,   and  afterwards   had  a 
long  run  down  a  slope,  at  the  foot  of  which  we  came 
to  grounded  ice,  and  observed  the  tracks  of  Eskimaux 
men  and  dogs  a  liitle  before  noon ;  but  these  were  so 
confused  that  we  were  at  a  loss  which  marks  to  follow, 
Notltnowing  where  to  go,  we  wandered  amongst  the 
heavy  hummocks  of  ice,  and  suflfering  from  cold,  fa. 
tigue,  and  anxiety,  were  soon  completely  bewildered 
Several  of  our  party  now  began  to  exhibit  symptoms  of 
that  horrid  kind  of  insensibility  which  is  the  prelude  to 
sleep.     They  all  professed  extreme  willingness  to  do 
what  ihey  were  told,  in  order  to  keep  in  exercise,  but 
none  obeyed ;  on  the  contrary,  they  reeled  about  like 
drunken  men.     The  faces  of  several  were  severely 
frost-bitten,  and  some  had  for  a  considerable  time  lost 
sensation  in  their  fingers   and   toes;  yet   they   made 
not  the  slightest  exertion  to  rub  the  parts  affected, 
and  even  discontinued  their  general  custom  of  warn- 
ing each  other  on   observing  a  discoloration  of  the 
skin. 

Mr.  Palmer  employed  the  people  in  building  a  snow 
wall,  ostensibly  as  a  snelter  from  the  wind,  but  in  fact 
to  give  them  exercise,  when  standing  still  must  have 
proved  fatal  to  men  in  our  circumstances.  My  atteo' 
tion  was  exclusively  directed  to  Serjeant  Speckmao,! 
who  having  been  repeatedly  warned  that  his  nose  m 
frozen,  had  paid  no  attention  to  it,  owing  to  the  statej 
of  stupefaction  into  which  he  had  fallen.  The  frost- 
bite  had  now  extended  over  one  side  of  his  face, 


ACROSS  TBB  I8LANI>. 


M 


which  was  frozen  as  hard  as  a  mask ;  the  eyelids 
stifff  and  one  corner  of  the  upper  lip  so  drawn  up  as 
to  expose  the  teeth  and  gums.    My  hands  being  still 
warni)  I  had  the  happiness  of  restoring  the  circula- 
tion, aAer  which  I  used  all  my  endeavours  to  kieep  the 
poor  fellow   in   motion ;  but   he  complained  sadly  oi' 
giddiness  and  dimness  of  sight,  and  was  so  weak  as  to 
be  unable  to  walk  without  assistance.     His  case  was 
so  alarming,  that  I  expected  every  moment  he  would 
lie  down  never'to  rise  again.     Our  prospect  now  be- 
came every  moment  more  gloomy,  and  it  was  but  too 
probable  that  four  of  our  party   would  be  unable  to 
survive  another  hour.     Mr.  Palmer,  however,  endea- 
voured as  well  as  myself  to  cheer  the  people  up ;  but 
jit  was  a  faint  attempt  as  we  had  not  a  single  hope  to 
give  them.    Every  piece  of  ice,  or  even  of  small  rock, 
or  stone,  was  now  supposed  to  be  the  ships,  and  we 
bad  great  difficulty  in  preventing  the  men  from  run- 
ning to  the  different  objects  which  attracted  them,  and 
Iconsequently  losing  themselves  in  the  drift.     In  this 
[state,  while  Mr.  Palmer  was  running  round  us  to  warm 
Ibimself,  he  suddenly  pitched  on  a  new  beaten  track, 
jand  as  exercise  was  indispensable,  we  determined  on 
illowing  it  wherever  it  might  lead  us. 
Having  taken  the  serjeant  under  my  coat,  he  re- 
covered a  little,  and  we  moved  onwards,  when  to  our 
Infinite  joy  we  found  that  the  path  led  to  the  ships, 
Ett  which   we  arrived  in   about  ten  minutes  after.    I 
iraited  immediately  on   Captain  Parry  to  remove  his 
Binxiety   on  our   account,   and  then  proceeded  to  my 
pwn  ship. 

One  man  had  two  of  his  fingers  so  badly  frost-bit- 
len  as  to  loose  a  good  deal  of  the  flesh  of  the  uppe^,* 
)nds,  and  we  were  for  many,  days  in  fear  that  he 
rould  be  obliged  to  have  them  amputated.  Carr,  the 
harter-master,  who  had  been  the  most  hardy  while  in 
le  air,  fainted  twice  on  coming  below,  and  every  one 
jad  severe  frost-bites  in  different  parts  of  the  body, 
)hich  recovered  after  the  usual  loss  of  skin  in  these 


tM 


ises. 


11 


Utt 


IM 


A  SUPSRSTITIOir. 


If!}''  'f  t 


ili 


Mil 


1)^4 


imn 


Thai  endad  an  eieunion,  in  which  for  thirty  hours 
we  were  eipoied  to  the  most  coMtantly  Mfere  weather 
which  had  been  experienced  during  the  winter,  the 
thermometer  on  the  ice  near  the  tliips  haying  stood  ai 
32*^  below  zero  the  whole  night.  All  thoughts  of  the 
long  expedition  were  now  given  up  until  a  more 
advanced  season. 

The  gale,  which  continued  unabated  until  the 
18th,  had  not  been  much  more  faTOurable  to  the  na- 
tives than  to  ourselves,  for  it  prevented  their  seal* 
ing,  and  they  now  came  in  numbers  to  beg  for  food 
and  water. 

Amongst  other  women  who  came  on  board  was  young 
Ib-bi-kuk,  round  whose  neck  I  found  suspended  an  old 
broken  spear-head  of  musk  ox  horn ;  whilst  I  was  ob- 1 
serving  it  attentively  she  endeavoured  to  hide  it  in  her 
hair,  and  with  cries  of  alarm  said  she  should  die  if  I 
touched  it.     By  degrees,  however,  i  pacified  her,  andj 
was  at   length    permitted   to   examine   this  extraor- 
dinary charm,  but  could  not  induce  her  to  part  with  it,. 
from  her  dreading  that  her  father  would  kill  her  mo- 
ther  and  herself  if  she   returned  home   without  it. 
Visitors  to  the  huts  found  all  the  men  absent,  and  the 
women  at  high  romps.    Fourteen  of  them  voluntarily 
exhibited  some  very  curious  dances  and  contortions  for 
nearly  threu  hours,  till  at  length  their  gestures  became 
indecent  and  wanton  in  the  highest  degree.    This  was 
the  first  instance   of  any   exhibitions  which  had  the 
slightest  indelicate  tendency,  and  might  be  accountedj 
for  by  their  being  uncontrolled  by  the  presence  ofl 
their   husbands.    As  a  proof  that  they  were  perfectl;! 
conscious  of  the  impropriety  of  their  conduct,  a  litllel 
boy  was  stationed  as  sentinel  at  the  door,  and  a  womaol 
occasionally  ran  out  to  see  if  any  of  the  men  weie| 
returning  home. 

On  the  20th  I  found  every  one  at  the  village  in  thel 
highest  spirits,  old  ll-yoomia  excepted,  who  was  mours-j 
ing  over  one  of  her  sons.  This  hopeful  young  man| 
had  eaten  so  abundantly  of  walrus  flesh  that  his 
mach  was  become  hard  and  swollen,  and  he  lay  oaited 


;■*"!( 


A  DAirCE. 


>.-« 


12& 


and  grunting  between  his  deer-skins.  Even  though  he 
acknowledged  that  he  was  full  to  the  throat,  hlfi  tendoi 
mother  continued,  during  the  whole  time  of  my  stay, 
to  supply  him  with  small  pieces  of  meat  and  blubbei 
to  relieve  his  pain !  I  found  Togorlat  bu^i.y  stringing 
a  fishhook  of  her  own  manufacture,  which  she  had  no 
sooner  completed,  than  calling  Mr.  Richards,  she  ofTer- 
ed  it  as  an  ornament  for  the  collar  of  his  Newfound- 
land dog,  requesting  in  return  a  lock  of  the  animal's 
hair  to  suspend  round  the  neck  of  her  sick  boy ;  on  re- 
ceiving it,  she  expressed  the  most  lively  joy  at  the 
acquisition  of  so  valuable  a  <^harm.  I  now  was  enabled, 
for  the  first  time,  to  observe  the  way  in  which  the 
seals'  skins  were  prepared;  several  of  the  old  women 
being  busily  occupied  in  depriving  them  of  the  hair. 
Although  the  hides  had  been  previously  well  soaked  in 
urine,  the  women's  tongues  were  used  to  clean  their 
scraping  knives. 

As  universal  good  humour  prevailed,  and  Okotook. 
eootrarj'  to  custom,  was  not  sulky,  a  party  of  women 
were  easily  assembled  in  his  hut,  which  was  by  tar  the 
best  and  largest,  to  sing.  Eleven  of  them  collected  for 
this  purpose,  and  Okotook,  as  master  of  the  ceremo- 
nies, placed  himself  in  the  centre  of  a  circle  which 
they  formed. 

H^  now  moved  slowly  round,  with  lifted  elbows  and 
closed  hands.  His  eyes  were  nearly  shut,  and  in  a 
sharp  discordant  voice  he  repeated  ''  06-yee-o6-yee,'" 
several  times,  at  the  same  moment  showing  his  teeth. 
This  1  construed  into  a  kind  of  invitation  to  the  ladies, 
who  simultaneously  burst  into  the  usual  chorus  ot 
('  Amoa-&,  ya,  ft  ya,"  with  their  eyes  closed,  and  all 
standing  in  a  perfectly  upright  posture.  The  hand.'' 
of  many  were  joined  under  the  front  flaps  of  the 
;  jacket. 

Okotook,  in  the  mean  time,  continued  humming  to 
himself,  and  swinging  his  head  and  arms  alternately, 
from  side  to  side  in  a  heavy  manner,  jumping  occasion- 
ally on  one  leg  and  kicking  the  other  as  high  as  il 
would  i>each.    This  figure  he  enlivened  at  interviaU^. 


I*''     y  H 


124 


▲  BEAR  SEEK*.       r;tH 


by  most  discordaDt  screams,  while  his  inexpressibly 
wild  countenaace,  and  long  tangled  locks  hanging 
over  his  face,  gave  him  an  air  of  savageness  which  I 
am  unable  to  describe.  Two  acts,  of  about  ten  minutes 
each,  were  occupied  as  above ;  and  the  man  being 
fatigued  gave  up  his  place  to  another.  The  women 
were  now  asked  to  perform  some  tricks,  and  lligliak 
stepped  forward  to  jump  from  her  knees  to  her  feet 
with  a  rapidity  almost  amounting  to  flying,  when  her 
ponderous  and  puffed  out  boots  are  considered.  Each 
woman  then  in  turn,  and  sometimes  two  together,  in 
different  tones,  repeated  the  words  as  in  the  note,* 
without  drawing  breath.  We  had  not  before  heard 
these  expressions,  and  from  our  afterwards  finding 
them  in  every  woman's  mouth  at  merry-making,  I  was 
inclined  to  suppose  that  they  had  some  mystical  mean- 
ing, as  they  were  never  used  in  ordinary  conversation. 
It  is  not  improbable  that  they  may  be  words  of  another 
language,  and  I  note  them  in  hopes  that  some  one 
who  is  curious  in  these  matters  .may  discover  their 
origin. 

Affairs  were  in  this  merry  train,  when  unfortunate- 
ly, one  of  the  party  of  the  kabloona  asked  for  the  clos- 
'•'ing  dance  of  the  preceding  day.  The  men  laughed, 
but  the  women  looked  very  serious,  conceiving  such  a 
request  as  a  breach  of  confidence.  They  instantly 
began  in  a  hurried  manner  to  leave  the  hut,  and  in 
half  a  minute  the  whole  party  was  dispersed.  Shek- 
oobyoo  offered  his  services,  with  ten  dogs  in  his  sledge, 
to  take  myself,  another  officer,  and  a  frozen  wolf,  on 
board,  and  we  set  off  in  high  style. 

I  learnt  that  some  officers  and  men  had  seen  a  bear 

>    from  the  S.  E.  point,  at  about  the  distance  of  half  a 

mile,  cantering  towards  a  small  pool  of  open  water. 


3^     *  T&-ba-t&-ba  ^»^' 
=^t        Ki-ba-khi 

Ki-bQd.l6o-b& 
■tmi.      Kfti-bo 


••^A 


Ta-ba-tft-bft 
Ki-bakhi 
Ki-bad-loo-ba 
K&i-bo. 


h. 


KETTI.B  AHD  fttS   iPtELVf. 


195 


This  was  the  third  which  bad  been  seen  in  the  course 
of  the  winter. 

Od  the  22d,  Mr.  Elder  saw  two  hares,  and  succeeded 
in  killing  one  of  them,  which  weighed  eight  pounds 
and  a  half,  and  was  in  better  case  than  many  we  bad 
hilled  in  the  summer^  As  no  thaw  had  commenced, 
and  the  lands  in  eyery  direction  were  deeply  covered 
with  bard  frozen  snow,  J  could  not  conceive  on  what 
the  creature  had  fattened.  * 

In  the  afternoon.  Kettle,  who  returned  from  an  un- 
successful walrus  hunt,  came  on  board  for  rest  and  food. 
While  eating  I  observed  that  he  became  agitated,  and 
frequently  paused,  although  very  hungry.    At  length, 
in  answer  to  my  inquiries,  he  said  that  Torng&k  (a ; 
spirit)  prevented  him  from  eating  by  being  seated  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  cabin,  and  making  faces  at  him. 
He  DOW  asked  my  permission  to  drive  the  tormentor 
away,  which  being  granted,  he  raised  a  shout  like  the 
Ihellow  of  a  bull,  but  with  a  more   gui^ling  sound, 
j which  was  heard  all  over  the  ship;  and  trembling  a 
little,  held  up  his  hand  near  his  mouth,  when  collecting 
hu  breath  he  blew  on  the  tips  of  his  fingers  as  if  driv- 
ling  away  a  fly,  or  some  particles  of  dust.     This  blast 
I  was  sufficient  to  dismiss  his  tt)rmentor,  and  he  began 
{again  to  eat  witk  great  satisfaction.     The  poor  savage 
[assuredly  believed  that  he  saw  some  supernatural  ob- 
ject, the  cabin  being  rather  dark,  for  nothing  could 
pnduce  him  to  repeat  his  cry,  or  to  blow  again  on  his 
Sngers,  his  constant  answer  being,  ^^  I  don't  see  him.'* 

Two  or  three  trifling  instances  of  dishonesty  had 
of  late  been  discovered,  and  the  ofienders  had  been 
Vanished  the  ships  with  disgrace.  1  was  now  sorry 
|to  find  that  old  Rettle  was  unquestionably  one  of  the 
ruilty,  and  that  he  had  purloined  an  iron  spoon,  with, 
rhich  he  was  eating  pea-soup,  from  the  Fury.  The 
reather  on  this  day  being  very  thick,  and  several  Es-. 
kimaux  having  crowded  under  the  awning,  the  old  man. 
lanaged  to  get  down  to  my  cabin  unobserved,  announc- 
ing^as  he  entered,  that  he  had  brought  me,  as  a  present, 
Ihe  delicate  skin  of  the  foetus  of  a  seal,  which  he  hi^ 
U  • 


126 


XEW   MANNER  OP  NITSSING. 


secreted  under  his  jacket.  Considering  this  as  a  bribe 
I  refused  it,  but  without  giving  a  reason,  and  sent  him 
on  deck,  not  however  until  he  had  voluntarily  acknow- 
leged  the  theft,  and  entered  into  a  long  protestation  of 
his  innocence;  again  offering  the  skin  if  1  would  speak 
to  Pari  about  him.  Having  observed  this  kind  of 
cunning  in  two  or  three  instances,  I  began  to  suspect 
that  a  present  was  rarely  offered,  unless  as  an  extenua- 
tion of  some  fault  previously  committed. 

The  weather  continuing  very  stormy,  and  the  hunt- 
ing having  ceased,  it  became  our  duty,  as  usual,  to  pro- 
vision the  Eskimaux.     The  women  have  a  very  curi- 
ous way  of  feeding  the  young  children,  which  are  car- 
ried in  their  hoods.     Without  being  obliged  to  use  their 
hands,  or  even  to  take  the  infant  from  its  nest,  the  mo- 
ther contrives  by  a  sudden  jerk  and  twist  of  the  shoul- 
ders, to  bring  her  burthen  before  her,  so  that  as  the 
jacket  turns,  the  child  is  thrown  nearly  on  its  baclc, 
with  the  face  looking  upwards ;  the  parent  then  stoops 
and  supplies  the  little  one  until  it  is  satisfied,  from  her 
own  mouth,  in  the  manner  of  birds  feeding  their  young, 
a  good  upright  shake  then  puts  all  to  rights,  and  *he 
inhabitant  of  the  hood  lies  coiled  away  out  of  sight, 
safe  from  the  influence  of  the  cold.    We  had  for  some 
days  been  much  amused  by  young  Arn&-lo6-fi,  who  hay- 
ing had  her  face  washed,  and  her  hair  ornamented  with 
a  few  buttons  and  some  scarlet  cloth,  gave  herself  all 
the  airs  of  an  experienced  coquette,  craning  up  her 
neck,  and  affecting  to  twinkle  her  eyes  in  a  most  en- 1 
gaging  manner.    An  occasional  smile  or  condescending 
look  was  vouchsafed  on  the  bystanders,  in  order  to  ex- 
hibit her  teeth,  which  had  been  subjected  to  the  dis-  j 
cipline  of  an  old  tooth-brush.     Th^  husband  paraded 
her  about  with  great  satisfaction,  while  a  large  part)' 
of  women  were  mimicking  them  both,  and  imitating! 
Arnalooa^s  toss  of  the  head.     I  mention  »his  little  anec- 1 
dote  of  an  Arctic  belle,  as  a  fresh  proof  that  an  inno- 
cent love  of  admiration  and  finery  is  not  confined  to  | 
Europe  and  other  civilized  countries,  though  the  trea- 
sures of  the  toilet  are  widely  different;  a  mu^k-cxj 


4t>*?>«'F     BEEF  STOI.EN.      ■Wi':.^> 


m^ 


tooth,  a  sailor^s  button,  or  a  nail,  pendent  from  the  pig- 
tails, being  as  much  prized  as  a  set  of  diamonds  would 
be  in  England. 

A  most  shocking  theft  was  on  this  evening  commit- 
ted by  a  man  and  bis  little  son  ;  which  was  no  less  than 
the  last  piece  of  English  corned  beef,  belonging  to  the 
midshipmen.  Had  it  been  an  eighteen  pound  carron- 
ade,  or  even  one  of  the  anchors,  the  thieves  would 
have  -been  welcome  to  it ;  but  to  purloin  English  beef, 
ia  such  a  country,  was  quite  unpardonable.  The 
rogues  were  seen  making  o£f  with  their  prize,  and 
a  general  chase  was  given ;  but  owing  to  the  gale 
and  drift  then  blowing,  and  to  a  feint  practised 
by  dropping  a  piece  of  fat,  and  kicking  snow  over  it, 
as  if  the  whole  was  buried,  the  beef  was  never  again 
seen.  Ayookitt  and  Nanuaoo  slept  on  board,  in  my 
cabin,  and  gave  me  much  interesting  information : 
amongst  other  things,  I  learnt  that  Nannaoo  was  born 
at  a  place  called  Noo-wook,  which,  from  the  charts  ob- 
tained, we  had  every  reason  to  suppose  was  the  north- 
ern shore  of  the  Wager  River.  In  this  country  both 
black  and  white  bears  are  numerous.  Rein-deer  and 
musk-oxen  are  also  common  in  large  herds,  and  the 
lakes  and  rivers  abound  in  fish.  The  Kablee,  a-ghio, 
which  I  suppose  to  be  the  wolverine,  is  also  found  in 
the  mountains :  the  Eskimaux  esteem  it  good  eating. 
My  informant  had  some  traditionary  story  about  the 
kabloona,  although  neither  himself  nor  his  father,  who 
died  while  he  was  a  boy,  had  ever  seen  them.  My  im- 
perfect knowledge  of  the  language  at  this  time  pre- 
vented my  learning  more  than  ihat  brass  kettles,  beads, 
and  iron,  were  obtained  by  Noowook  people,  who  tra- 
velled to  the  southward,  and  from  them  again  found  a 
sale  amongst  the  northern  tribes.  Ayookitt,  who  was 
born  at  Ay-wi-lik  (Repulse  Bay),  confirmed  what  I  had 
heard  from  others,  that  his  country  produced  the  same 
animals  for  food  as  Noowook,  with  the  exception  of 
the  black  bear.  Great  interest  had  been  for  some  days 
excited  in  consequence  of  information  received  from 
iligliak,  of  a  large  sea  existing  three  days  to  the  west- 
ward of  Repulse  Bay.    Of  this  she  drew  charts,  which 


Ifiii 

V-   ■ 

ft  3   —  i 


^g|ri 


$p4 


128 


OE06BAPHICAL  INFOBMATION. 


were  acknowledged  to  be  correct  by  those  who  had 
visited  the  place  ;  Ayookitt  confirming  all  she  had  said. 
and  in  nearly  the  same  words.  It  appears  that  a  smalj 
stream,  which  is  unnavigable  even  for  the  light  canoes 
of  the  Eskimaux,  discharges  itself  into  Repulse  Bay : 
this  run  of  water  is  from  a  large  lake,  one  day's  jour- 
ney inland,  whither  the  natives  annually  resort  in  great 
numbers,  and  pitch  their  tents  on  its  banks.  This  visit 
being  for  the  purpose  of  fishing,  the  men  take  their 
kayaks  and  catch  abundance  of  salmon.  The  lake  ex- 
tends one  day's  journey  from  east  to  west,  at  which 
end  a  second  stream,  similar  to  that  communicatiDg 
with  Repulse  Bay,  finds  its  way  to  the  sea,  which  is 
one  day^s  walk  west  of  it.  Beyond  this  sea  no  land  is 
seen  in  any  direction,  but  the  coast  to  the  right  and 
left  is  continued  as  far  as  they  know  of  food  being  af- 
.  forded  to  the  Eskimaux. 

It  is  a  remarkable  coincidence,  that  the  officer  who 
was  despatched  by  Middleton,  to  examine  the  Wager 
River,  reported,  that  from  the  mountains,  about  fifteen 
leagues  above  Deer  Sound,  he  saw  a  large  sea  with 
islands  in  it,  to  the  northward ;  and  the  position  as- 
signed by  them  to  this  water,  exactly  agrees  r/ith  that 
laid  down  in  lligliak's  chart.  To  support  still  farther 
this  favourable  idea  of  the  proximity  of  a  western  sea, 
it  seems  that  when  Captain  Parry,  in  the  autumn,  wa 
examining  the  upper  end  of  Lyon  Inlet,  he  one  evening 
sent  Messrs.  Bushnan  and  Ross  to  take  a  look  round 
from  a  high  hill,  and  on  their  return  was  informed  that 
they  had  seen  a  sea  and  head-lands  to  the  westward : 
that  scarcely  expecting,  however,  to  find  one  in  that 
direction,  he  conceived  they  were  mistaken,  although 
Mr.  Sh'irer  and  himself,  from  the  beach,  observed  a 
luminous  appearance  in  the  same  direction,  like  a  faint 
ice  blink.  These  circumstances,  when  put  together, 
had  an  air  of  probability,  which  in  every  subsequent 
conversation  with  the  Eskimaux  became  more  and  more 
evident.  In  a  chart  of  Iligliak^s,  which  I  have  in  my 
possession,  she  connected  the  land,  from  our  winter 
quarters  to  the  N.  W.  sea,  rounding  and  teriuinatiog 


NATIVES   CHANGE  THEIR  STATION.        1S9 

the  northern  extremity  of  this  part  of  America,  by  a 
large  island,  and  a  strait  of  sufficient  magnitude  to  af- 
ford a  safe  passage  for  the  ships.  This  little  North- 
West  Passage  set  us  all  castle-building,  and  we  already 
fancied  the  worst  part  of  our  voyage  over ;  or,  at  all 
events,  thai  before  half  the  ensuing  summer  was  past, 
ive  should  arrive  at  Akkoolse,  the  Eskimaux  settlement 
on  the  western  shore.  On  all  these  interesting  heads, 
my  friend  Ayookitt  stood  an  excellent  cross-examina- 
tion, which  left  no  doubt  on  the  minds  of  his  hearers  as 
to  the  truth  of  what  had  been  advanced. 


'  ^''  ^'*'*i 


CHAPTER  V. 


■<-?J«. 


Naliret  change  their  station— Gluttony— Deserted  huts — The  first 
thaw— Arrival  of  birds — Land  e'^pedition — Snow  blindness- 
Snow-storm — Return  to  the  ships — Death  of  a  seaman — Deer 
are  seen— Singular  phenomenon — Canal  completed — The  gar- 
dens—Appearance of  the  island — Death  of  two  seamen — Icc 
breaks  up,  and  we  leave  the  island. 


I^tl 


dl 


'':  • 


As  it  was  now  a  week  since  any  seals  or  walruses 
Ihad  been  taken,  and  as  the  weather  had  been  very  cold   : 
land  windy,  the  distresses  of  the  Eskimaux  were  ex- 
Itreme.    Several  men  and  women  stopped  all  day  at  the 
[ships,  and  my  friend  Nannaoo  remained  during  the  ; 
pvhole  night.     He  hastened  away  very  early  in  the  ^ 
lorning,  without  taking  any  leave,  and  ran  all  the  way  i 
b  the  huts,  at  which  we  observed  the  people  in  a  great 
Dustle.    Seven  or  eight  men  came  down  on  their  way  v 
|to  tlie  water  to  hunt,  but  said  nothing  about  what  was 
;oing  on  ;  at  length  Mr.  Sherer,  who  had  walked  out 
early,  came  and  informed  us,  that  about  thirty  men, 
romen,  and  children,  had  taken  their  goods,  and  de- 
parted with  s'.edges  over  the  ice,  to  the  westward, 
rithout  having  ever  given  us  the  slightest  hint  of  their  ^ 
itelKtions.  .  , 

On  hearing  the  news,  I  hurried  off  to  the  huts,  anc| 


ISO 


NATITES  ADRIFT. 


n 


found  them  broken,  dirty,  and  forsaken  by  all  except 
some  old  women,  and  the  oldest  man,  Akiarft,  who  was 
sitting  alone  upon  a  skin  in  one  of  the  treble-^loined 
huts,  without  lamp   or*  food,  and  having  no  shelter 
but  the  bare   icy  walls,  the  former  inmates  having 
carried  away  all  their  furniture.    It  was  painful  to  Dee 
this  poor  creature,  left  in  a  situation  which  to  an  £u. 
ropean  would  appear  the  extreme  cf  misery,  yet  in 
good  spirits,  chuckling  and  laughing,  utterly  insensible 
to  the  wretchedness  of  his  situation.     His  old  wife  was 
down  at  the  ships  to  procure  food  for  him,  and,  as  I 
afterwards  found,  was  dancing  on  deck,  in  no  hurry  to 
return.  Kettle  and  Ewerat,  with  their  families,  remain- 
ed.    Poor  Togorlat  was  the  only  person  who  had  a 
lamp  alight  to  melt  snow,  but  she  had  not  sufikient  oil 
for  more  than  two  wicks.     In  spite  of  the  desolation 
and   want  v^hlch  prevailed,  the  women  were  in  the 
highest  spirits  at  the  huts,  as  well  as  on  board,  and  from  | 
the  experience  I  have  had  of  both  sexes,  I  am  Ci.jti- 
aSnt  that  starvation  tends  greatly  to  promote  merrl- 1 
iueui,  Miu  good  numour  wiin  an  Hissimaux,  aunougu 
any  of  my  countrymen  can  vouch  for  its  having  a  very 
contrary  effect  on  an  Englishman.     Some  biscuit  which 
I  carried  wiih  me  was  actually  bolted  by  the  children,! 
when  given  to  each  in  its  turn ;  yet  not  one  of  them, 
although  literally  half-starved,  attempted  to  push  him- 
self forward  for  his  portion,  but  patiently  waited  antill 
it  was  put  into  his  hand. 

1  found  on  my  arrival  on  bbard,  that  five  cid  wokteDJ 
who  had  come  to  the  ship  to  procure  food  ibr  theirl 
families,  were  dancing  on  deck,  as  if  they  were  tbel 
happiest  creatures  in  the  world ;  kicking  their  legs  asl 
high  as  their  heads,  making  laces  and  screaming  mta 
all  their  might.  These  worthy  matrons  had.  eaten  al 
bucket  full  of  bread-dust,  and  were  supplied  with  sharei| 
for  those  at  home ;  but  in  their  mirth  they  quite  fc 
their  errand,  and  when  reminded  of  it  by  me,  instea 
of  taking  their  departure,  each  was  determined  mI 
dancing  ovei  again  all  the  figures  performed  d^ 
my  sdbiecce,  before  she  would  take  leave.    In  the  ere 


QLITTTONT. 


131 


Ding  we  8aw.fott.  men  adrift  in  the  strait  upon  a  piece 
of  ice,  fr<^tt|ihich  they  coald  not  at  that  time  hav^e  a 
chance  ofipaping.  I  went  to  the  S.E.  point,  intend- 
ing to  launch  a  boat  and  go  to  their  assistance,  but  the 
sea  was  too  full  of  young  ice  to  render  it  possible  to 
reach  them.  They  were  at  least  two  miles  from  the 
shore,  but  happily  the  wind  and  tide  were  in  their  fa- 
vour ;  and  when  the  night  set  in  with  rain  and  snow, 
we  saw  them  driving  towards  the  fast  bay  ice.  Witli 
a  glass  I  had  observed  a  large  space  on  their  float  cover- 
ed with  the  blood  of  a  seal  or  walrus,  so  that  they  had 
abundance  of  the  food  most  congenial  to  their  palates, 
aod  as  the  cold  was  a  little  above  zero,  they  could 
maDSge  very  well  for  one  night.  It  was  only  to  be 
woadered  at  that  we  had  never  before  seen  any  of 
these  people  in  the  same  dangerous  situation,  as  froai 
tiie  daring  way  in  which  they  ventured  on  the  moving 
I  ice,  such  accidents  might  have  been  more  frequently 
expected.  Three  mien,  who  walked  past  the  ships  af^ 
I  ter  an  unsuccessful  hunt,  told  us  that  their  comrades 
had  .been  adrift  from  before  noon,  yet  they  appeared 
{ quite  UDConcei'hi)d  about  them. 

Some  ofiicers  who  cxme  late  from  the  village,  in-- 
I  formed  me  that  Nannaoo  had  not,  as  we  suspected,  ac- 
companied Okotook,  but  had  returned  while  they  were 
Ithere  from  an  unsuccessful  search  after  seals.     He  told 
jthem  he  had  no  home,  no  skins  to  sleep  on,  and  no 
[food;  and  that  he  knew  not  where  to  pass  the  night. 
lAUthe  presents  he  had  received  from  us  had  gone 
iwith  Okotook,  who,  amongst  other  things,  had  laid  claim 
1(0  his  boaroing-pike,  and  thus  having  secured  the  poor 
BJad's  property,  he  had  turned  him  adrift.     My  protegl 
[wandered  about  the  huts  dressed  in  an  old  sailor's  jacket 
land  comforter,  and  I  was  sorry  that  he  did  not  come  for 
|Ms  warm  birth  before  my  fire,  to  which,  and  some  sup- 
per, he  would  have  been  welcome  as  usual. 
We  found  on  the  3rd,  that  the  party  who  had  been  adrift 
id  killed  t<^o  large  walruses,  which  they  had  carried 
^ome  during  ihe  early  part  of  the  night.    No  one  there- 
fore came^to  the  ships,all  remaining  in  the  huts  to  gorman- 


132 


SOME  NATIVES  HETUIW. 


h*,  '1* 


'i 


dize.  We  found  the  men  lying  under  their  deer  skins, 
and  clouds  of  steam  rising  from  tlieir  mfjlb^  bodies. 
From  Kooilittiuk)  I  learnt  a  new  EskimaoProxury :  he 
Iiad  eaten  until  he  was  drunk,  and  every  moment  fell 
asleep,  with  a  flushed  and  burning  face,  and  his  mouth 
open :  by  his  side  sat  Arnalooa,  who  was  attending  her 
cooking  pot,  and  at  short  intervals  awakened  her  spouse, 
in  order  to  cram  as  much  as  was  possible  of  a  large 
piece  of  half-boiled  flesh  into  his  mouth,  with  the  as- 
sistance  of  her  fore  finger,  and  having  filled  it  quite 
full,  cut  ofl"  the  morsel  close  to  his  lips.  This  he  slow- 
ly chewed,  and  as  soon  as.  a  small  vacancy  became  per- 
ceptible, this  was  filled  again  by  a  lump  of  raw  blub- 
ber. During  this  operation  the  happy  man  moved  no 
part  of  him  but  his  jaws,  not  even  opening  his  eyes; 
but  his  extreme  satisfaction  was  occasionally  shewn  by 
a  most  expressive  grunt,  whenever  he  enjcyed  suffi- 
cient room  for  the  passage  of  sound.  The  drippings 
of  the  savoury  repast  had  so  plentifully  covered  his 
face  and  neck,  that  I  had  no  hesitation  in  determining 
that  a  man  may  look  more  like  a  beast  by  over-eating, 
than  by  drinking  to  excess.  The  women  having  fed 
all  their  better  halves  to  sleep,  and  not  having' neglect- 
ed themselves,  had  now  nothing  to  do  but  to  talk  and 
beg  as  usual. 

Amongst  other  proofs  of  ingratitude  in  these  poor 
savages,  there  were  several  who  this  day  affected  to 
despise  the  bread-dust  and  oil,  which  had  recently  sav- 
ed the  lives  of  themselves  and  infants ;  and  even  went 
so  far  as  to  complain  of  the  small  allowance  given 
them ;  plainly  intimating  that  we  were  in  duty  bound 
to  maintain  them,  whenever  by  idleness,  excessive 
gluttony,  or  ill  success,  they  were  destitute  of  food.  As 
I  was  coming  out,  Pootooarloo^s  two  wives  came  in  from 
the  absent  party  to  beg  for  flesh.  They  received  as 
much  food  as  they  could  manage  to  eat,  but  when  they 
solicited  contributions  for  their  husband,  the  portions 
were  very  small,  and  unwillingly  bestowed,  by  which 
it  would  appear  that  since  the  division  of  the  tribe,  se- 
parate interests  prevailed,  and  that  the  usual  partner- 


SOME   NATIVES  BETUBN. 


133 


ships  were  dissolved.  From  all  I  could  learn,  I  had 
great  reason  to  suspect  that  Okootook,  in  some  fit  of 
sulkiaes"  r  disappointed  avarice,  had  been  the  cause 
of  the  recent  change  of  abode.  There  was  one  bene- 
fit, at  all  events,  derived  from  the  breaking  up  of  the 
tribe,  which  was,  that  all  the  detected  thieves  were  of 
the  absent  party,  with  the  exception  of  old  Kettle. 
As  the  time  for  refitting  the  ships  was  now  fast  ap- 
proaching, we  should  not  have  been  sorry  if  the  whole 
tribe  had  left  us;  for  although  in  idle  times  they  had 
lightened  many  a  tedious  hour,  yet,  from  their  habits  of 
crowding  the  decks,  they  were  by  no  means  desirable 
spring  visitors,  while  duty  was  going  forward,  and 
the  people  were  busily  engaged  in  fitting  for  the  sum- 
mer. 

Pootooarloo  had  heard  so  good  a  report  of  the  flesh- 
pots  at  the  deserted  village,  that  on  the  4th,  he  came 
back  with  wives,  dogs  and  baggage,  built  a  new  snow 
hut,  and  again  established  himself.  The  people  of 
property  did  not,  however,  quite  meet  his  wishes;  fo^, 
during  the  whole  of  the  first  day,  he  neither  received 
a  piece  of  flesh,  or  even  blubber  enough  for  his  wives 
to  light  their  lamps  with.  Iligliak,  also,  walked  in 
with  her  little  boy  to  obtain  food,  but  only  procured 
as  much  as  herelf  and  child  could  eat. 

The  snow,  on  such  parts  of  the  ship  as  were  painted 
black-  thawed  in  small  spots,  at  mid-day :  the  ther- 
mometer was  at  zero,  in  the  shade.  This  was  the  first 
time  of  our  having  observed  the  most  trifling  indication 
of  the  returning  warmth  of  the  sun. 

The  strait  being  filled  by  a  quantity  of  heavy  loose 
ice,  which  the  calm  weather  could  not  dislodge,  the 
Eskimaux  were  again  in  difficulty ;  on  the  10th,  there 
was  not  even  a  lamp  alight ;  twenty-five  grown  per- 
sons and  six  small  children  had,  in  six  days,  eaten  and 
wasted  every  part  of  two  walruses,  which,  from  the 
known  bulk  of  these  animals,  must  have  weighed  near- 
er twenty  than  fifteen  cwt. !  News  arrived  that  the 
distant  party  had  killed  five  or  six  seals,  by  watching 
their  holes  in  the  ice,  and  that  old  Kettle,  with  bi^ 
12 


!     ■■•.'! 


194 


VINAL  DEPARTURE^ 


I'  f. 


own  and  two  other  families)  had  hurried  off  to  the  land 
of  plentj'.  The  remaining  few  came  daily  in  a  mise- 
rable state,  and  partook  of  our  so  lately  despised  bread- 
dust,  the  poor  thoughtless  creatures  still  fancying  that 
it  was  their  right. 

On  the  12th,  the  observatory  was  pulled  down,  and 
out  of  its  wreck  1  was  enabled  to  supply  a  dozen  men 
with  wood  for  a  bow  or  a  spear  each.  The  women  all 
told  ns  with  a  sorrowful,  and  no  doubt  sincere  look  of 
grief,  (for  they  were  going  where  they  had  little  chance 
of  procuring  any  thing  to  eat),  that  on  the  morrow  they 
should  take  their  departure.  We  theretore  made  a 
general  distribution  of  presents,  and  in  return  received 
locks  of  their  hair,  neatly  plaiteJ. 

On  the  13th,  a  party  walked  out  to  witness  the 
departure  of  our  winter  acquaintances.  Two  slei 
es  stood  ready  packed  with  skins  and  household  I 
furniture,  to  a  yard  in  height.  Tin  pots,  bottles,, 
and  jars,  hung  dangling  all  round  the  sides  of  the 
heap,  while  kniriBS,  pieces  of  iron,  and  w.>od,  til- 
led up  the  chinks.  The  smallest  children  stowed 
in  deer  skins,  were  tied  up  and  arranged  like  bundles 
on  the  top  of  the  load.  The  transparent  windows  of 
fresh  water  or  lake  ice  were  also  to  be  carried  off,  as 
the  new  settlement  was  on  the  sea,  and  no  others  could 
be  obtained.  The  two  team  of  dogs  seamed  quite 
aware  that  they  were  to  perform  a  long  day's  journej, 
and  were  impatient  to  set  out,  lifting  their  noses  to  the 
sky,  and  all  howling  in  most  melancholy  concert  for 
some  minutes;  they  we're  kept  in  order  by  the  '  ouDg| 
boys  and  a  girl,  all  of  whom  handled  the  long  wl 
with  surprising  dexterity,  and  with  as  much  satisfactioDJ 
to  themselves  as  torment  to  the  dogs,  which  at  lenglbj 
commenced  fighting  with  such  fury,  that  the  liead  a  ' 
ears  of  several  were  covered  with  blood.  The  signfdl 
of  departure  being  giveo,  the  vehicles  were  shot  (IowdI 
the  slope  of  the  hill  with  great  speed  and  spirit.  Thel 
women  walked  briskly  on  with  the  men,  and  the  wholel 
party  was  in  the  highest  glee.  One  man  paid  exclusiTej 
attention  to  <;ach  sledge,  in  order  to  see  that  nothingl 


AGED   WOMAN. 


135 


fell,  and  also  (o  flog  the  dogs,  a  ceremony  which  is 
Mkiom  omitted,  whether  necessary  or  not.  We  had 
not  proceeded  far  when  we  saw  two  darlc  spots  on  the 
distant  ice,  and  I  learnt  that  poor  old  Ak-yara  and 
Kawungut's  mother  Eewitko,  who  could  not  be  less 
tlinn  seventy  years  of  age,  had  been  sent  off  at  day- 
light to  find  their  way  as  they  could.  Had  either  of 
these  poor  old  people  fallen  into  one  of  the  numerous 
deep  lissures  which  we  found  in  the  ice,  they  would 
have  been  unable  to  extricate  themsflvcs,  and  must 
have  fallen  a  prey  to  bears  or  wolves,  or  if  spared  such 
torments,  must  have  been  frozen  to  death.  We  accom- 
panied the  natives  about  a  couple  of  miles  on  their 
road,  and  then  left  them  ;  our  parting  was  ludicrously 
pathetic,  for  they  all  pretended  to  cry,  saying,  that 
they  should  never  see  us  ag<iin  ;  unless  indeed  they 
had  nothing  to  eat,  when  they  would  come,  a  family  at 
a  time,  and  pass  the  day  and  night  on  board  with  me. 
We  could  just  discern  the  distant  huts,  which,  as  I  was 
ini'ormed  by  Mr.  Bird  who  visited  them,  were  situated 
about  ten  miles  from  the  ships  in  the  centre  of  the 
inlet.  At  the  middle  of  their  journey  the  travellers 
came  up  with  the  old  man,  who,  leaning  on  a  staff, 
walked  with  great  ditliculty  ;  he  was  now  therefore 
permitted  to  ride.  The  old  woman  had  vigorously 
outwalked  him  by  above  a  mile,  and  was  still  fresh. 
Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  her  strength,  when  1 
mention  that  she  had  a  great  grandson  eight  years  of 


age. 


Tiie  men  were  all  absent  from  the  huts,  watching 
seal  holes ;  while  the  women  were  busy  making  boots, 
[gloves,  &c.,  which  they  would  have  sold,  had  they  not 
been  informed  by  the  new  comers  that  the  market  was 
imore  favourable  at  the  ships.  Ooming,  the  wife  of 
I  the  man  who  stole  the  beef,  was  all  attention  and  civi- 
I  lity ;  in  the  mean  time  picking  Mr.  Bird^s  pocket  of 
Ibis  handkerchief.  He  however  found  it  again,  which 
made  the  lady  very  merry  and  witty  on  the  subject  of 
[her  own  roguery. 

Two  families  yet  remained  behind,  as  the  sledges 


■■.V 


136 


DESERTED   HUTS. 


i 


M        1 


^3  '      !? 


3"  it 


J ' ' 


could  not  stow  their  effects,  and  on  our  walk  back  tu 
the  ships,  they  accompanied  us.  Togorlat,  who  was 
of  the  number,  brought  her  sick  child,  and  that  he 
might  not  be  in  the  way,  or  in  mischief,  he  was  tied 
by  a  rope-yarn  to  the  rudder  chains,  from  whence  he 
struggled  and  kicked  for  freedom,  like  a  young  puppy 
dog. 

1  had  several  times,  in  my  rambles  through  the 
world,  seen  huts  which  1  imagined  could  not  be  equalled 
in  point  of  wretchedness  of  appearance  ;  but  I  was 
yet  to  learn  that  of  all  miserable  places  on  earth,  a 
snow  village  recently  deserted  is  the  most  gloomy. 
The  huts,  when  viewed  from  without,  glisten  beneath 
the  rays  of  a  spring  sun,  with  a  brilliancy  which  daz- 
zles and  pains  the  eye,  but  the  contrast  within  is  there- 
fore the  more  striking.  The  roofs  melted  into  icicles, 
and  coated  with  smoke,  arches  broken  and  falling  from 
decay ;  the  snow  seats,  floors,  and  partitions  covered 
with  every  kind  of  filth  and  rubbish,  bones,  broken 
utensils,  and  scraps  of  skins,  form  altogether  the  most 
deplorable  picture,  while  the  general  air  of  misery  is 
tenfold  augmented  by  the  strong  glare  of  light  which 
shoots  through  the  hole  once  occupied  by  a  window. 

For  two  or  three  days  the  ships'  companies  had  been 
occupied  in  cutting  a  trench  round  the  vessels,  in  order 
that  they  might  rise  to  their  bearings  previous  to  our 
beginning  to  work  on  the  holds.  On  this  day,  after  a 
good  sally,  the  llecla  rose  like  a  cork  from  the  ice 
which  had  held  her  down;  and  was  found  in  191  days 
to  have  altered  her  draught  six  inches  and  a  half. 

Scarcely  a  &dy  had  passed  of  late  without  a  visit 
from  the  Eskimaux,  who,  having  taken  no  seals  for 
above  a  week,  were  pinched  with  hunger,  it  Dot 
unfrequently  happened,  that  women  with  children  at 
their  backs  walked  to  the  ships  and  back  again  in  one 
day  (a  distance  of  about  twenty  miles,)  to  obtain  a 
little  bread-dust.  The  most  indefatigable  beggars  o. 
either  sex  ceased  to  ask  for  wood,  iron,  or  any  thing  | 
but  food,  which  wej  from  the  frugality  necessarily 
attendant  on  our  situation,  could  but  ill  afford  to  give. 


■•' 


GREEDIITESS   OF  THE   NATIVES. 


13f 


Vfe  floon  found  that  some  of  the  people  had  iroroenRe 
proportions  gi?en  them  in  consequence  of  their  gene- 
ral acquaintance,  and  because  they  were  as  importu- 
nate after  a  full  allowance  as  if  they  had  eaten  nothing 
for  a  month.  My  friend  Ayokitt  was  an  instance  of 
this;  for  he  one  day  came  from  the  Fury,  his  face 
covered  with  crums  and  oil,  and  so  full,  that  he  was 
obliged  to  sleep  in  my  cabin  for  an  hour  or  two  to 
recover  himself;  yet  his  eyes  were  no  sooner  opened, 
than  in  the  usual  monotonous  manner,  he  repeatedly 
cried  t&-m6o-a  (food,)  as  if  extremely  hungry.  I  re- 
fused to  supply  him,  and  in  high  dudgeon  he  went  to 
the  midshipmen,  who  believing  him  in  want,  gave  liim 
such  a  feast  as  to  send  him  once  more  to  sleep.  On 
awaking  he  again  asked  for  food,  but  meeting  with  no 
more  in  the  Hecla,  went  to  the  Fury,  where,  as  Cap- 
tain Parry  informed  me,  he  continued  to  eat  during  the 
whole  day.  This  little  anecdote  will  serve  for  the 
whole  tribe,  old  and  young,  male  and  female. 

The  poor  neglected  dogs  were  more  to  be  pitied 
than  their  masters,  for  no  one  fed  them,  and  I  verily 
believe  that  they  had  not  made  half  a  dozen  meals 
during  the  winter ;  yet  were  they  worked  as  much, 
and  thrashed  as  continually,  as  if  they  enjoyed  abun- 
dance of  food,  and  were  in  a  condition  to  bear  any 
thing.  Owing  to  the  voracity  of  these  animals  1  lost 
both  my  tame  foxes,  which  1  had  carefully  kept  for 
above  six  months.  The  cage  of  one  being  torn  open, 
he  made  his  escape  in  such  fear  as  never  to  return ; 
the  other  had  both  her  legs  broken,  and  was  otherwise 
so  much  hurt,  that  1  had  her  killed. 

Mr.  Crawford,  who  had  been  occupied  in  preparing 

I  a  little  garden  for  the  Fury,  found  an  Eskimaux  grave, 

from  whence  he  took  the  skull.     He  also  dug  up  a 

quantity  of  little  bent  pieces  of  wood,  resembling  the 

ribs  of  a  kayak,  and  having  holes  through  them,  which 

[appeared  as  if  a  boat  had  been  buried  also.     Can  it  be 

[possible  that  the  Eskimaux  ever  inter  their  dead  in 

I  canoes  as  is  done  by  tribes  of  Indians  opthQ  porth-west 

I  coast  of  America? 

1%  * 


■ItS! 


1S$ 


THE   FIRST  THAW. 


i:  '1 


dlM"^ 


'^i 


Although  the  sun  did  not  appear  on  the  3d,  yet  the 
temperature  was  at  42.  and  40.  A  general  thaw  dovt 
took  place  for  the  first  time,  and  a  few  hours  enabled 
us  to  judge  of  its  rapid  progress :  the  tops  of  the  hills 
exhibiting  a  speckled  appearance,  in  consequence  of 
the  exposure  of  such  rocky  points  as  had  been  but 
lightly  covered  with  snow.  A  flock  of  fifteen  ducks,* 
a  grouse,  two  gulls,  a  raven,  and  five  snow  buntins, 
were  seen  in  the  course  of  the  day,  and  three  of  the 
latter  were  killed.  Their  plumage  was  beautiful ;  the 
black  of  the  wings,  and  a  small  cream-coloured  horse- 
shoe-shaped mark  on  the  breast,  affording  a  delicate 
contrast  to  the  white  of  the  body.  The  buds  of  the 
saxifrage,  on  which  they  appeared  to  have  fed,  bad 
tinged  the  heads,  beaks,  and  necks  of  a  faint  blush  or 
pink  colour.  It  was  almost  a  sin  to  destroy  birds  so 
like  our  robins  in  their  familiarity  and  confidence  Iq 
man,  yet,  as  our  consciences  were  easily  bribed  by  any 
new  food,  we  ate  and  found  them  fat  and  very  sweet. 

For  some  days  the  sea  had  been  open  to  a  consider- 
able distance  during  the  prevalence  of  off-shore  winds. 
The  season  appeared  to  be  improving,  and  it  was  deter- 
mined that  on  the  morrow  I  should  set  out  along  the 
coast.     In  fact,  the  temperature  had  been  such  as  to 
have  warranted  our  starting  a  week  earlier,  though 
not  sufficient  even  at  noon,  except  on  occasional  days 
to  thaw  ice,  or  to  afford  us  a  draught  of  water,  without  j 
which  we  could  not  travel ;  and  as  we  were  to  cam 
tiventy  days'  provisions,  it  was  not  in  our  power  to  I 
take  much  wood  for  thawing  snow.     Each  of  my  party  j 
was  supplied  with  a  pair  of  snow  shoes,  and  we  car- 
ried on  our  sledges  a  tent  to  be  spread  on  four  boarding  I 
pikes,  and  of  sufficient  size  for  us  to  stow  in  while  inaj 
sitting  posture.     Our  knapsacks  contained  warm  cloth- 
ing, and  a  blanket  formed  into  a  bag,  and  each  person  I 
had  an  Eskimaux  suit  of  warm  deer  skins  to  sleep  in.| 

•  It  may  to  those  who  do  not  really  know  what  senantions  m\ 
first  appearance  of  the  return  of  niiimale  and  warmth  have  iipoij 
the  minds  of  innii  who  havA  passed  a  dreary  winter,  seem  ridiculouij 
that  we  should  count  the  birds.  --.-»  ..v 


LAND  EXPEDITION. 


139 


Our  whole  load  amounted  to  1200lbs.,  of  which  each 
man  drew  1261bs.,  and  Mr.  Palmer  and  myself  95lbs.  a 
piece. 


.f':-0:- 


^mI 


m' 


LAND  EXPEDITION. 


■■'> 


As  it  is  not  my  intention  to  give  in  my  private  jour- 
nal an  official  report  of  an  extremely  uninteresting 
jouroey,  I  shall  here  observe,  that  I  have  rendered  the 
account  as  short  as  possible.  My  only  reason  indeed 
lor  at  all  inserting  it,  is  to  give  an  idea  of  what  the 
('genial  month  of  May''  is,  in  the  polar  regions. 

We  left  the  ships  on  the  evening  of  the  8th,  and 
having  walked  four  hours,  the  time  we  allowed  for 
each  period  of  travelling,  pitched  our  tent  for  the 
night.  A  second  advance  of  four  hours  brought  us  on 
the  forenoon  of  the  9th  to  the  point  of  the  dividing 
strait,  which  I  named  after  Mr.  Hoppner,  and  on  which 
we  rested  until  the  evening.  The  weather  was  ex- 
tremely cold,  and  water  could  only  be  procured  by 
thawing.  The  clearness  of  the  day  admitted  of  our 
taking  the  requisite  observations  to  determine  the  situ- 
ation of  our  position,  which  I  named  after  my  old  tra- 
velling companion,  Belford.  In  the  evening  we  enter- 
ed on  the  heavy-grounded  ice  in  the  strait,  so  as  to 
cross  the  narrowest  part,  for  a  particular  point  of  which 
we  had  taken  the  bearing^.  Loaded  as  we  were,  it 
was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  we  made  our  way 
amongst  and  over  the  hummocks  ;  ourselves  and  sledges 
taking  some  very  unpleasant  tumbles.  It  required  two 
hours  and  a  half  to  cross  the  ice,  although  the  distance 
was  not  two  miles,  and  we  then  landed  on  a  small 
island  where  we  passed  the  night.  In  the  strait  we 
observed  the  tracks  of  wolves  and  foxes  ;  we  also  saw 
the  foot-prints  of  a  young  bear,  and  those  of  its  mother 
were  found  on  a  small  isle  adjoining  that  on  which  we 
slept.  Several  islands  and  shoals  lay  in  the  strait — 
these  were  named  Bird's  isles. 


mm 


•Xt 


140 


SKOW  Bi.IV3lNESS. 


li  Ill- 


it  mm 


'v:i,,,; 


The  morning  of  the  10th  brought  no  abatement  of 
the  cold  northerly  gale,  and  on  starting  we  crossed  a 
second  strait  of  ice  of  a  mile  in  widtLi,  and  then  pro- 
ceeded along  shore  to  the  N.  E.  Our  road  lay  over 
extremely  irregular  ground  covered  with  steep  ridges 
of  snow.  Ten  deer  were  seen  at  different  times,  but 
so  exceedingly  timid  that  we  had  no  chance  of  ap- 
proaching them. 

When  in  the  evening  we  pursued  our  way,  a  solita- 
ry deer  joined  us,  and  regulating  his  pace  by  ours,  trot- 
ted near  us  for  above  a  mile.  He  came  two  or  three 
times  within  gunshot,  but  escaped  unhurt.  Tliree 
others  afterwards  tantaliscif  us  for  above  an  hour  by 
wheeling  round  our  party  at  full  speed,  just  out  of 
range.  Our  walking  time  having  expired,  we  gladly 
tented,  for  we  were  so  cold  from  being  exposed  on  a 
hill-side  to  a  northerly  gale  at  a  temperature  of  18, 
that  it  was  with  difficulty  we  unlashed  o  "  sledges. 
Before  midnight  the  thermometer  fell  to  1. 

Our  forenoon's  walk  on  the  11th  brouj^  '  ^o  to  the 
head  of  a  handsome  bay,  where  we  pitched  our  tent. 
At  noon  the  thermometer  was  22.  Notwithstanding 
the  care  which  had  been  taken  by  covering  the  eyes 
with  crape,  and  using  shades,  five  of  our  little  party  be- 
came severely  affected  with  snow  blindness,  which  unfor- 
tunate circumstance  prevented  our  going  forward  until 
they  were  somewhat  better.  Before  evening  two  of 
the  sufferers  became  quite  blinded  by  the  inflamma- 
tion, and  all  complained  of  most  acute  burning  pain; 
their  faces,  eyes,  and  even  heads  being  much  swollen 
and  very  red.  Bathing  would  have  afforded  relief, 
but  the  sun  did  not  favour  us  with  a  single  drop  of  wa- 
ter, and  we  could  only  afford  a  sufficiency  of  wood  to  thaw 
snow  for  a  draught  at  noon.  As  the  morning  of  the 
12th  brought  no  change  in  our  invalids,  another  day 
was  necessarily  lost.  The  weather  however  was  mild, 
and  towards  evening,  by  breaking  pieces  of  ice,  and 
placing  them  in  the  full  glare  of  the  sun,  we  obtained 
as  much  water  as  we  could  drink,  and  a  sufficiency  for 
the  sick  to  bathe  their  faces,  which  afforded  them 


■  I  vi  |f' :  ; 


A  GBAVH. 


141 


atnaziDg  relief.  Rambling  near  our  tent,  I  found  seve- 
ral of  that  description  of  Eskimaux  landmarks  which 
are  so  common  along  the  coast,  and  amongst  these  wa» 
one  file  of  stones  built  with  more  regularity  than  usu- 
al, and,  as  1  supposed,  over  a  grave.  A  single  slab, 
which  formed  one  side,  was  fivr^  feet  in  length  by  two 
in  breadth,  and  must  have  been  brought  with  some  dif- 
ficulty from  the  hills.  As  it  would  have  been  interest- 
ing to  observe  how  the  body  lay,  we  searched  for  one, 
bat  the  ground  was  so  hard  frozen,  that  our  boarding- 
pikes  would  make  no  impression  on  its  surface.  It  is 
scarcely  necessary  to  say,  that  during  our  detention  we 
were  enabled  to  ascertain  with  accuracy  the  situation 
we  were  in,  which  I  named  Blake's  Bay. 

The  morning  of  the  13th  was  fine,  with  the  thermo- 
meter at  10.     Seven  deer  passed  close  to  the  tent  when 
we  were  getting  up.     Although  the  eyes  of  our  inva- 
lids were  far  from  well,  and  considerable  inflammation 
still  existed,  it  was  found  that  by  following  and  looking 
down  on  the  sledges  of  those  who  could  lead  the  way, 
I  we  might  again  set  forward.     Our  forenoon's  walk  was 
aloDg  a  flat  beach,  ofl*  which,  at  about  a  mile  distant, 
I  lay  a  chain  of  low  islands  and  shoals.     We  rested  on  a 
rocky  point,  on  which  were  numerous  piles  of  stones, 
and  remains  of  Eskimaux  summer  residences.     At  noon 
the  sun  was  sufficiently  powerful  to  aflbrd  us  a  draught 
of  water  without  the   tedious  task   of  thawmg  it  our- 
sclvcis,  which  we  had  done  invariably  at  mid  day  and 
each  evening  except  one,  since  leaving  the  ships.    The 
second  portion  of  our  day's  journey  brought  us  to  the 
top  of  a  high  hill,  from  whence  the  sea  was  distant 
j about  two  miles.     The  rocks  on  the  eastern  face  were 
Ibold  and  abrupt,  and  the  snow  was  thawed  from  their 
[flat  sides.     This  bare  state  of  the  bluff  had  rendered  it 
la  favourite  resort  for  deer,  of  which  we  saw  several 
jpicklDg  up  a  wretched  subsistence  from  lichens  that 
(grew  in  the  crevices,  or  by  digging  withered  moss  from 
lunder  the  snow. 

Oq  the  morning  of  the  14th  we  descended  Adderley's 
IBluff,  towards  the  sea,  near  which  it  became  steep,  and 


'.J 


•^  it    <i 


\ 


142 


TRAVELLING. 


'     ? 


t     5   'H 


in  many  places  precipitous :  at  its  foot,  on  the  salt  ice, 
the  snow  lay  in  such  deep  ridges  as  very  materially  to 
impede  our  progress,  especially  as  the  snownshces  of 
some  of  our  party  were  broker,  and  almost  useless. 
Stopping  on  a  low  point  at  noon,  the  people  caught  two 
hairy  brown  caterpillars,  which  were  crawling  lan- 
guidly over  the  snow. 

In  the  evening  we  crossed  a  bay,  about  two  miles 
in  width,  to  a  rocky  isle,  on  which  stood  one  of  those 
fantastic  piles  of  stones,  which  the  Eskiraaux  buiid,  in 
imitation  of  a  man  with  his  arms  extended.  Beyond 
the  isle  was  a  snug  cove,  in  which,  from  the  appear- 
ance of  the  ice,  I  should  imagine  that  our  two  ships 
might  have  lain  securely.  When  we  stopped  for  the 
night,  the  weather  appeared  on  the  change,  and  a  hea- 
vy scud  came  from  the  S.  E. 

The  wind  came  from  this  quarter  on  the  morning  of  j 
the  15th,  bringing  a  fall  of  snow,  and  an  increased  tem- 
perature to  26^.     Soon  after  setting  forward  we  came 
to  a  bay,  which,  from  the  increasing  thickness  of  the 
weather,  Mr.  Palmer  and  myself  thosi^ht  proper'to  :: 
amine  to  the  head.     We  afterwards  crossed  its  entrance, 
a  distance  of  about  four  miles,  over  flat  ice;  but  long] 
before  this  was  effected,  the  snow  and  drift  fell  so  thick- 
ly that  we   walked  at  random,  not  seeing  any  object  to 
guide  us:  arriving  at  length  at  the  foot  of  a  hill,  we 
pitched  the  tent  immediately.     For  sixty-eight  hours 
we  remained  on  this   wretched  spot,  unable  to  move 
out  without  being  covered  with  snow.     The  high  state 
of  the  temperature  (30°)  thawed  the  snow  as  it  fell  on 
the  rocks,  but  still  we  could  obtain  no  water,  as  the 
constant  drift  kept  the  desired  fluid  in  a  kind  of  pappj 
Slate.     We  had  however,  in  one  respect,  more  than  we 
could  have  desired,  for  there  was  a  continued  drippiog| 
through  the  tent,  which  wetted  our  clothes  and  bl^k- 
ets  ei  arely  through,  keeping  us  in  a  constant  steam;! 
our  i  welling  being  but  11   feet  by  6,  and  5  feet  high,  | 
shaped  like  the  roof  of  a  house,  obliged  us  to  sit  hud- 
dled together.     Three  books,  which  were  read  all| 
round^  with  the  requisite  operations  of  eating  and  sleep- 


&ET1TBN  BACK. 


143 


ingf,  beguiled  the  time,  until  the  morning  of  the  18th, 
when  we  enjoyed  a  glimpse  of  the  sun,  and  forthwith 
sallied  out  to  stretch  our  legs.  Mr.  Palmer  accom- 
panied me  to  the  top  of  a  neighbouring  hill,  from 
whence  we  obtained  an  extensive  view  to  the  north- 
eastward, indeed  as  far  as  we  could  have  reached  in 
two  days's  journey.  A  point  near  us  was  named  Eliza- 
beth, and  the  most  distant  cape,  which  we  hoped  to 
find  the  N.  E.  extremity  of  America,  I  called  after  an 
old  friend,  Cape  Wilson.  Half  of  the  time  allotted  t^ 
our  outgoing  had  now  expired,  our  wood  was  almost 
expended,  and  it  was  also  necessa:  y  to  be  prepared  to 
experience  as  many  difficulties  on  our  return,  as  in  our 
journey  from  the  ships.  My  principal  fear  was  for 
the  eye-sight  of  our  people,  who,  1  found,  invariably 
suffered  more  pain  when  in  the  warm  tent,  than  during 
exposure  to  the  air. 

We  therefore  set  out  on  our  return,  and  our  loads 
being  of  course  considerably  lightened,  we  crossed  any 
hills  which  lay  in  our  way,  cutting  over  points  and,  in 
fact,  considerably  shortening  our  distances.  From 
some  of  the  declivities  we  enjoyed  frequent  agreeable 
slides  on  our  sledges,  which  were  worn  as  smooth  as 
!  glass.  The  snow,  in  some  places,  was  steep  for  at 
I  least  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  and  we  had  only  to  lie  at 
[length  on  our  loads,  when  one  push  was  sufficient  to 
send  us  forward  with  t^  j  velocity  of  the  cars,  on  the 
montagnes,  in  the  public  gardens  at  Paris. 

By  the  evening  of  the  20th  we  were  arrived  near 

iHoppner^s  Strait,  at  about  three  miles  from  the  island 

on  which  we  had  slept  on  the  9th.     The  cold  was 

sufficient,  in  consequence  of  a  fresh  northerly  wind 

(thermometer  14°),  to   give  two  of  our  party  frost- 

jbites.    A  herd  of  seven  deer  tantalised  us  for  some 

Itime,  and  escaped  unhurt :  though  we  very  anxiously 

lendeavoured  to  procure  one,  it  being  generally  agreed 

Ithat  dining  for  a  dozen  days  off  frozen  preserved  meat 

jwas  by  no  means  agreeable. 

The  daily  average  of  travelling,  on  our  return,  was 
[eighteen  miles ;  but  on  the  21st,  we  resolved  to  make 


.)  ':■  i 


ri.  />: 


144 


ASBITAL  tar  BOiJIB. 


4!*    1' 


tS'S   ■  ■,) 


imM 


a  forced  inarch  o?er  Winter  Island.  We  therefore 
walked  for  eleven  h'^urs,  with  no  inconsiderable  load 
behind  us,  and  reached  the  ships  in  the  evening. 

l^e  unfavourable  state  of  the  season,  which  had 
only  melted   the  snow  on   little   patches  of  pointed 
rocks,  entirely  precluded  all  possibility  of  our  making  ^ 
any   observations   on  the  nature   of  the   desert  over] 
which  we  had  passed:  such  rocks  as  were  partiallj 
exposed  were  of  gneiss,  and  a  few  detached  pieces  of  I 
granite  were  seen.     While  resting  on  the   14th,  ml 
found  a  few  rounded  masses  of  feldspar  in  a  decom. 
posing  state,  and  on  breaking  th  .  outer  crust,  obtained 
some  small  grains  of  hepatic  iron  pyrites,  of  the  size 
of  peas.     We  did  not  discover  a  single  plant  of  any 
description,  in  a  state  of  vegetation,  which  may  account 
for  the  almost  total  absence  of  birds,  as  we  saw  oDiyaJ 
'  raven  and  three  snow  buntings.    The  deer  appearedl 
in  a  wretchedly  thin  state,  their  high  withers  haviogl 
the  appearance  of  humps.     It  may  be  Inferred,  how-[ 
ever,  that  in  the  summer  these  animals  are  very  du-I 
merous,  from  the  quantity  of  those  peculiar  piles  ofl 
stones,  behind  which  the  Eskimaux  hunter  coDcealif 
himself,   found   in  every  racky  situation      We  werel 
only   twice   able   to  procure   water  ai  noon  withootl 
thawing  the  snow,  and  were  often  many  hours  in  paio-| 
ful  want  of  it.     !  cannot  close  this  abstract  of  our 
interesting  journey,  without  giving  to  our  friends,  thel 
snow-shoes,  the  praises  they  deserve.    My  people,  noJ 
understanding  them,  wore  them  the  first  day  mereljf 
because  thoy  were  toid  to  do  so,  but  they  proved 
the  end  our  greatest  help ;  without  them  we  could  d(M 
have  made  five,  or^  in  some  cases,  one  mile  a  day, 
the  snow,  now  soflened  by  the  modei;ate  temperatur(| 
received  us  knee-deep  at  every  step. 

Our  expedition,  though  limited,  had  answered  tfa 
end  for  which  it  was  set  on  foot,  which  was  the 
ciding  to  what  point  the  ships  might  run,  without  1 
ing  ubiiged  to  lose  time  in  standing  in-sbore,  to  exao 
any  indications  of  bays  or  inlets. 


As 

the  sp 

quarte 

choly 

fl)eH( 

others 

orfoQ] 

fallien  I 

the  oth 

dne  of 


1 


.«J  I 


♦S1I   3  <,^xTf[  ov  1  SElMAir. 


•r>* .( 


145 


As  far  »s  te^rded  the  ic6,  ot  the  advance  ifteht  of 
the  springy,  no  change  wad  observable  at  our  v^iAter 
quarters ;  and  the  onfy  news  I  learnt  was  of  a  melan- 
choly nature.    James  Prfngte,  one  of  the  seamen  of 
the  Hecla,  who  had  been  employed  on  the  8th,  with 
others  of  a  fatigue  party,  to  drag  ow  loads  for  three 
or  four  miles  ftom  the  skips,  had,  as  I  then  observed, 
fatten  behind,  and  lay  on  the  snow :  I  therefore  sent 
the  others  back,  and  tbe  surgeon,  who  was  fortunately 
one  of  the  party  walking  out  to  see  us  oiT,  was  sent  to 
examine  into  bis  case.     I  novv  heard  that  he  had  been 
taken  so  ill,  with  giddiness  in  the  head,  that  it  was  re- 
quisite to  send  a  sledge  to  carry  him  on  board.    By 
proper  remedTes  he  apparently  recovered  on  the  next 
day ;  but  on  the  IGtli,  while  employed  aloft,  he  fell 
from  the  mizen-topmast  head  to  the  deck  ;  his  jaw  was 
fractured,  his  neck  dislocated,  and  the  poor  fellow 
never  moved  more.    This  fatal  event  threw  a  general 
gloom  over  every  one,  the  deceased  having  been  a 
good  and  respectable  seaman,  and  highly  esteemedf 
by  all  his  shipmates.    Captain  Parry  very  kindly  at- 
tended to  the  necessary  arrangements  for  his  funeraCf, 
and  on  Sunday,  the  t9th,  the  officers  and  creiVs  of  botb 
ships  walked  in  procession  to  his  grave,  which  was 
on  the  spot  near  where  the  observatory  had  stood. 
I  When  our  shipmate  was  laid  in  the  ground,  a  y'otfey 
was  fired  over  him,  and  every  one  attended  divine  set- 
vice  on  bt>atd  the  Fury. 

Dtlring  our  absence  Mr.  Hoppner  had  put  the  ship 
in  summer  order,  had  painted  the  boats,  and  mad« 
every  thing  in  readiness  for  active  service.  Tw^ 
families,  who  had  chosen  to  separate  fi*Om  the  maiA 
body,  had  built  a  Codple  of  snow  huts  oil  the  ice 
Ineav  the  ships,  and  on  the  morning  after  my  retdtii 
Itfaey  came  to  pay  me  a  visit.  Kooilittiuk  had  be^ii 
Itutored  in  making  a  dandy  bow,  and  came  to  me,  iniA. 
la  k&OtVing  shuke  of  the  beady  and  a  ^^  Werry  Welt  I 
|taMk  you,  Captait^  Lyon,'^  as  a  welcome  home  Agtihi. 
~{y  repoit  of  having  seen  deer,  d^tiermined  our  nittt 
party  on  ^tiogr  out  immediAtttty  fdr  AflAty(M>ft,  afkll 
13 


146         LAST  OF  THE   NATtTEB  LEAVE  V8. 


il'l 


it    I 


ui  i'l 


two  or  three  days  were  now  occupied  in  carrying  their 
heaviest  goods  on  in  advance.  They  had  no  sledge 
and  were  endeayouring  to  make  a  substitute  by  plait! 
jng  whalebone,  with  which  wretched  contrivance  they 
would  have  attempted  to  set  out.  Fortunately,  how- 
ever, it  was  in  my  power  to  give  to  each  family  one 
of  the  sledges  we  had  recently  used ;  and  on  Kooiiit. 
tiuk's  receiving  his,  Amalooa,  with  the  usual  con* 
ocience  of  these  people,  was  extremely  displeased 
that  she  did  not,  ;4t  apy  rate,  receive  a  knife  for  her- 
self, saying  at  the  same  time,  that  I  gdve  every  thing 
to  her  husband.  To  draw  the  load?,  which  were  ul- 
timately made  into  one,  and  placed  on  a  bone  sledge 
which  Captain  Parry  had  formerly  purchased  and  now 
gave  them,  they  had  but  one  grown  dog  and  a  small 
bandy-legged  puppy  j  for  this  latter,  however,  a  small 
harness  was  made,  and  he  was  not  allowed  to  be  idle. 
Much  interest  was  felt  for  the  poor  natives,  who  were 
about  to  set  cat  on  a  journey  which,  by  their  own  ac- 
count, would  occupy  thirty  or  forty  days,  and  this  with- 
out a  morsel  of  f jod,  except  a  few  candle  ends  and 
pieces  of  bread,  which  any  one  of  the  party  could  have 
eaten  at  a  meal.  They  were,  notwithstanding,  in  as 
high  ?ipirits  as  if  in  a  land  -of  plenty,  and  talked  of 
killing  deer  and  seals  with  the  greatest  confidence. 

On  the  25th  our  little  party  went  to  take  leave  of 
Captain  Parry  with  three  cheers,  and  the  men  re- 
ceived a  boardmg-pike  each.  They  then  came  to  me, 
and  each  man  was  presented  with  a  hatchet.  Amidst 
the  general  joy  at  receiving  these  gift^;  I  observed  my 
friend  Kooilittiuk  stooping  and  running  over  the  edge 
of  each  axe  with  his  thumb,  in  order  to  ascertain  if  his 
own  was  as  good  as  the  others,  which,  finding  to  be 
the  case,  his  happiness  was  quite  complete.  A  poor  I 
divorced  woman  (Apakkia)  who  had  no  one's  success 
to  rejoice  in,  was  a  silent  spectator,  and  stood  with 
tears  in  her  eyes  gazing  on  the  rest;  but  though  at 
other  times  the  greatest  beggar  of  the  tribe,  now 
neither  by  words  nor  looks  asked  for  a  parting  present 
Her  feelings  were  such  ja  v^v»i  |iavQ  agitatjed  even 


i     I 


-1    ..a^m^L      AFUKKIA.^^'^' *** 


147 


^ing  their 
10  sledge, 
by  plait- 
ranee  they 
tely,  how- 
BBoily  one 
on  Kooilit- 
usual  con* 
displeased 
ife  for  her- 
Bvery  thing 
;b  wereul- 
)one  sledge 
ed  and  now 
ind  a  small 
verf  a  small 
,d  to  be  idle. 
I,  who  were 
icir  own  ac- 
nd  this  with- 
lie  ends  and 
[y  could  have 
inding,  in  as 
nd  talked  of 
infidence. 
ike  leave  of 
Ihe  men  re- 
came  to  me, 
ihet.    Amidst 
observed  my 
!ver  the  edge 
scertain  if  his 
finding  to  be 
Icte.    A  pool 
one's  success 
id  stood  with! 
lat  though  at 
je  tribe,  no» 
trting  present  I 
agitated  even 


a  civilized  person  ;  but  I  made  her  happy  by  a  present 
of  a  knife,  with  a  promise,  that  when  she  brought  me 
any  man  as  her  husband  at  Amityook,  she  should  re- 
ceive an  axe.  The  poor  woman  was  more  than  satis- 
fied, she  had  not  power  to  thank  roe.  With  all  their 
shouting,  laughiog,  and  jumping,  I  codld  clearly  per- 
ceive that  our  little  band  of  travellers  frequently  al- 
lowed a  look  to  escape  them,  Which  acknowledged 
that  they  were  leaving  their  best  friends.  In  the  hopes 
of  seeing  us  in  the  summer,  and  I  believe  at  th&mo- 
m'-.rit  ieeling  gratitude  for  past  favours,  the  women  as 
well  as  the  men  attached  themselves  to  their  sledges, 
and  having  given  three  hearty  cheers,  set  out  on  their 
dreary  and  hazardous  journey. 

The  weather  was  clear  and  fine,  and  much  open 
water  was  seen  to  the  eastward.  Two  large  flocks 
of  ducks  now  visited  us.  A  bear  track  having  been 
observed  on  the  point  in  the  morning,  some  of  U8 
went  to  examine  it,  and  now  found  that  the  animal 
had  landed,  and  had  severs^  times  crossed  the  path  of 
the  officers  who  dad  first  traced  his  steps.  We  did 
not  meet  with  the  creature,  but  suspected  that  he 
must  be  lying  'close  at  hand  amongst  he  heavy  ice, 
and  no  doubt  looking  with  a  watchful  eye  at  us. 

The  first  grouse  (five  in  number)  were  killed  on  the 
30th,  their  plumage  still  wintry  white.  The -two  first 
deer  also  were  seen  by  Mr.  McLaren ;  and  I  afterwards,, 
in  looking  for  them,  saw  eight  more,  but  too  shy  to 
allow  of  my  approaching  within  half  a  mile  of  them. 
One  of  the  ravens  which  had  attended  us  throughout 
the  winter  was  killed  ;  and  it  was  remarkable,  as  being 
the  only  bird  we  had  seen  whose  plumage  underwent 
no  change  during  the  winter,  as  it  always  continued  of 
the  same  glossy  black  as  the  English  raven.  " 

Serjeant  Wise  killed  a  king  duck  (anas  spectabilis), 
I  which  was  in  most  beautiful  plumage.  This  brilliant 
bird,  in  size  and  form,  resevibles  the  eider  drake,  but 
in  the  colouring  of  the  heftd  there  is  an  essential  diffe- 
rence ;  this  is  on  account  of  a  large  orange-coloured 
patch  of  flesh,  which  protrudes  from  the  side  of  tbe^ 


148 


&IKOUI(AS  PHSirOMENOir. 


iiif.m?    i 


)     'I 


m 


bkuU  on  each  side,  along  the  root  of  the  beak.     In  feel, 
^rain,  and  colour,  it  exactly  resembles  the  rind  of  n 
fine  orange,  but  changes  to  a  dingy  brown  soon  aA^ 
death. 

Some  long-tailed  ducks  (anas  glacialis)  were  also 
killed  on  this  day,  and  large  flocks  of  both  the  above 
kinds  weio  seen  in  the  open  water  of  the  strait. 

Several  grouse  were  killed,  and  it  was  observed  that 
the  plumage  of  the  females  was  beginning  to  change, 
Swans  also  had  now  made  their  appearance. 
J.^  In  the  afternoon  a  most  singular  phenomenon  wa> 
observed  in  the  heavens.  The  western  sky  was  blur 
and  cloudless,  while  over  head  it  was  hazy,  and  abound- 
ing in  what  sailors  call  ^^  mackerel  and  marestailg." 
The  division  of  colours  was  by  a  most  perfect  arch, 
the  legs  of  which  stood  in  the  N.E.  and  S.W.  A  strong 
breeze  from  the  westward  did  not,  in  any  way,  affect 
the  edge  of  the  bow,  which  wjis  clearly  defined.  With 
the  legs  stationary,  the  whole  clouded  part  receded,  or 
fell  sl'>\vly  to  the  eastward,  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
hood  of  a  carriage  is  thrown  back,  until  by  degrees, 
and  after  the  expiration  of  two  hours,  the  sky  was  all 
of  the  same  pure  azure  as  had  at  first  been  seen  in  the 
west.     A  strong  wind  continued  blowing  all  night. 

Captain  Parry  having  determined  on  cutting  a  canal  j 
for  the  ships  to  get  to  the  open  water,  which  daily 
tantalised  us,  both  crews  were  accordingly  set  to  work 
at  sawing  a  track  which   had  been  marked  out,  being 
197  feet  in  width  at  the  outer  end,  and  fifty  near  the 
ships,  while  in  length  it  was  2058  feet.     Besides  this 
there  was  a  second  cut  from  the  Hecia  to  the  Fury, 
350  feet  in  length,  by  fit'ty  to  sixty  in  width.    The  I 
average  thickness  of  the  ice  was  *'\ree  or  four  feet 
but  in  some  places  it  was  as  much  as  twelve  feet,  aotlj 
was  extremely  difficult  to  cut. 

A  swanks  egg;  was  brought  off  to  me,  and  a  secondl 
left  in  the  nest,  which  Serjeant  Wise  had  found  abootj 
two  miles  from  the  ships.^-  I  immediately  went  to  seel 
it,  and  found  the  female  sitting,  with  the  male  standiDgl 
near.   They  both,  however,  took  flight  before  we  couldl 


Si'*;  jf't 


.-y.i. 


THE   SBASOir* 


149 


get  a  shot.  They  were  quite  white,  eicept  on  the 
neck  and  breast,  which  appeared  slightly  tinged  with 
yellow.  The  legs  and  feet  were  of  a  deep  black. 
The  nest  was  a  large  oval  mound  of  peat,  which,  as  it 
was  in  small  pieces,  not  exceeding  a  walnut  in  bigness, 
iBHSt  have  caused  infinite  laUour  in  its  construction, 
and  as  the  country  was  still  almost  entirely  covered 
with  snow,  the  birds  must  have  brought  their  materials 
irom  some  place  we  had  not  seen.  The  size  of  this 
nest  was  enormous,  being  five  feet  ten  inches  by  four 
feet  ten  inches,  and  two  feet  in  height.  The  cavity 
for  the  eggs  was  on  the  top,  and  about  eighteen  inches 
in  diameter,  so  that  the  whole  body  of  the  female  bird 
was  seen  while  sitting.  As  the  swans  had  not  returned 
on  the  evening  of  the  8th,  I  took  the  second  egg,  fan- 
cying they  had  forsaken  the  nest,  but  in  this  I  was  mis- 
taken, for  in  the  course  of  the  same  night  a  third  wns 
laid.  They  were  handsomely  shaped,  of  a  dull  white, 
and  weighing  eight  ounces  each,  so  that  they  afforded 
three  good  meals  to  one  of  our  invalids. 

On  the  9th,  I  brought  off  the  first  flowers  we  had 
seen  in  blossom;  they  were  of  the  saxifraga  oppositi- 
folia ;  and  it  ia  singular,  that  on  the  same  day  of  the 
same  month,  the  same  flower  was  first  seen  at  Melville 
Island. 

This  tardy  appearance  of  vegetation,  at  a  place  nine 
degrees  to  the  southward  of  the  winter-quarters  of  the 
last  expedition,  ofiers  a  strong  argument  in  favour  of 
the  hypothesis,  that  latitude  makes  but  little  or  no  dif- 
fers :e  as  far  «s  regards  this  portion  of  the  polar  re- 
gions. Neither  had  we  yet  experienced  sufiiciently 
mild  weather  to  have  produced  a  shower  of  rain,  al- 
though in  the  former  voyage  it  had  been  abundant  be- 
fore June. 

During  the  last  Week,  ducks,  plovers,  grouse,  san- 
•lerlings,  turnstones,  dotterels,  and  gulls,  were  shot; 
and  deer  were  seen  by  all  who  walked  a  short  distance 
inland.  More  than  half  the  canal  was  at  this  time  cut, 
and  the  ice  floated  out  of  it.  The  sea  continued  open 
13* 


i 


m 


■t  -1 


P'j 


\m.  i'l 


150 


CANAL  VINI8HED. 


as  before ;   but  the  weather  was  still  sharp,  and  the 
ground,  except  on  ridges,  deeply  covered  with  snow. 

On  the  14th,  a  brent  goose  was  killed.  We  had 
given  over  all  thoughts  of  seeing  any  thing  more  of 
the  Eskimaux,  when  on  this  day  four  of  them  came 
down  to  us  to  bid  farewell,  to  beg,  and,  as  we  soon 
found,  to  steal,  as  much  as  possible.  Kettle,  his  wife, 
and  Teeft,  slept  in  my  cabin ;  and  I  was  obliged  to  pass 
half  the  night  in  watching  the  first  couple,  who,  aAer 
all,  robbed  me  of  nothing  but  a  thimble.  In  the  morn- 
ing, however,  a  pick-axe,  lead  and  line,  and  various  et 
ceteras^  were  taken  from  the  side  of  the  canal ;  but  it 
all  ended  in  detection,  owing  to  the  imprudence  of  my 
dmamft,  who,  it  was  affirmed  by  some,  endeavoured  to 
secrete  a  tbirteen-inch  block  in  her  boot ! 

The  weather  on  the  18th  was  rather  foggy;  and, 
during  an  hour  or  two,  we  enjoyed  the  first  rain  which 
had  fallen  for  nearly  nine  months.  The  ice,  or  rather 
the  snow  upon  it,  had  become  extremely  soft  and  wet, 
which  rendered  walking  difficult.  The  canal  was  now 
completely  finished,  with  the  exception  of  floating  the 
ice  out  between  the  ships.  This  truly  arduous  task 
had  occupied  our  people  for  fiAeen  days,  from  six  a.m. 
to  eight  P.M. ;  but  even,  under  such  constant  exertion, 
there  never  was  a  set  of  men  who  laboured  with  more 
spirit  and  good-humour  :  the  singing  at  each  saw  was 
continual ;  and  a  person  with  closed  eyes  might  have 
fancied  himself  at  some  country  merry-making. 

Supposing  that  our  passage  was  now  opened  to  ns, 
and  that  the  morrow  would  be  the  last  day  at  Winter 
Island,  a  party  of  us  went  to  the  little  S.E.  hill  (now 
named  Cape  Fisher),  in  order  to  take  our  farewell  of  | 
so  charming  a  spot.    We  had  distinguished  it  by  the 
name  of  the  Y&ckee  (Eskimaux)  stone,  as  being  the  < 
place  from  whence  these  people  had  been  in  the  habit 
of  taking  a  view  of  the  state  of  the  ice  to  seaward, 
prior  to  making  their  excursions  for  seals  and  walruses. 
We  here  painted  the  ships'  names,  drank  to  our  future 
SQCcess,  and  smoked  a  few  segars  very  merrily.  While! 
we  sat  on  the  moss,  fancying  ourselves  very  rural, 


THB   0ABDEN9. 


151 


though  in  reality  extremely  cold,  a  few  ill-fated  bunt- 
ings came  near  enough  to  be  shot,  and  were  instantly 
roasted  for  our  supper.  Taking  each  a  piece  of  the 
Yaciiee  stone  as  a  souvenir,  we  returned  on  board  at 
duslc. 

To  those  who  have  had  the  happiness  of  residing  in 
our  own  dear  country  all  their  life,  surrounded  by 
beautiful  scenery,  it  may  appear  impossible  that  per- 
sons who  had  also  tasted  for  a  time  the  same  blessing, 
could  ever  feel  attachment  to  a  barren  icy  shore ;  yet 
I  can  answer  for  my  own  sensations,  bordering  closely 
on  regret  at  leaving  ou^•w^lter-qua^ter8,  4vhich,  how- 
ever dreary,  had  still  afforded  us  a  k^nd  of  home  for 
nine  months,  and  wliich  by  habit,  had  possessed  many 
points  of  interest.     Thus,  a!  hough  flat,  and  for  above 
eight  months  entirely  covered  with  snow,  "e  had  dis- 
tinguished our  walks  by  the  high-soundin^  -  names  of 
the  Promenade  or  Causeway,  South-east  I'oint,  Fast 
Bay,  Hills,   Yackee  Huts,   Yacke..   ^tone;    and    •  >st, 
though  not  the  least  important  on  the  list,  the  *^  Gar- 
den" of  each  ship,  was  a  favourite  lounge.     These 
last  places  consisted  of  a  hot-bed,  each  covered  with 
three  sashes,  made  for  the  purpose  in  England.     The 
attempts  at  rearing  a  variety  of  vegetables  succeeded 
to  admiration ;  by  dint  of  caaxing,  mustard  and  cress, 
peas  two  inches  high,  and  radishes  the  thickness  of 
threads,  crowned  our  endeavours  in  the  Hecia,  to  the 
weight  of  three  pounds  when  all  mixed  together !  The 
I  gardens,  however,  answered  one  most  excellent  pur- 
I  pose,  by  making  many  of  our  people  walk  to  observe 
their  progress,  who  M>uirrwise  would  have  taken  no 
exercise.    We  produced  vegetables  in  good  earnest  on 
board  the  ships,  from  following  a  plan  pursued  by  Cap- 
jtain  Parry  during  the  last  voyage;    which  was,  by 
Irearing.mustard  and  cress  in  boxes,  placed  in  the  vici- 
luity  of  the  various  stoves.    In  this  manner  we  were 
lenabled  to  afford  a  little  salad  to  each  mess  occasionally ; 
[and  we  reared,  on  the  whole,  one  hundred  pounds  of 
Ithis  most  desirable  antiscorbutic.    Happily,   we  had 
not  in  either  ship  any  occasion  for  this  in  individual 


15S 


APFEARAVCB  aF  THE   ISLAND^ 


t-}  :li 


1    ' 


cases,  owing  to  the  excellent  and  mi^ificent  provision 
of  comforts  of  all  descriptions  which  were  sent  out 
with  us. 

To  rnturn  to  the  ships :  during  the  night  of  the  18th, 
on  which  we  had  built  all  our  castles,  the  whole  body 
of  ice  astern  broke,  filled  up  our  hard-wrought  cana], 
and  6xed  us  as  firm  as  ever ;  some  grounded  bergs,  on 
a  shoal  without  the  bay,  preventing  the  harbour  floes 
from  going  to  sea.     Further  ruptions  took  place  on  the 
21st,  all  equally  unfavourable.     While  thus  detained, 
as  the  island  was  now  bare  of  snow,  and  the  lakes  were 
thawed,  parties  went  daily  on  little  shooting  excursions. 
On  the  25th,  I  shot  a  mouse,  which  was  the  first  seen 
this  season  ;  it  was  in  its  brown  summer  clothing.   I 
mention  this  circumstance,  because  those  at  MelTJlle 
Island  were  white.     A  dovekie  was  also  shot  on  this 
day,  whose  plumage  formed  a  most  beautiful  variety 
between  the  summer  and   winter    garb,  being  spot- 
ted all  over  with  black  and  white  feathers.     A  wind 
up  the  inlet  having  filled  it  with  ice,  vast  numbers  of  | 
king,  eider,  and  pin-tailed  ducks,  with  a  few  brent- 
geese and  divers,  and  six  swans,  resorted  to  the  lakes  I 
or  swamps,  which  also  afforded  subsistence  to  red  pha- 
laropes  and  sand-pipers ;  while  on  the  dry  land,  the 
golden  plover  was  frequently  met  with  in  beautiful 
plumage.     In  my  walks,  I  found  that  the  swanks  nest 
was  situated  in  the  centre  of  a  lake,  so  that  I  could  not  j 
have  reached  it ;  and  bad  a  brood  been  reared  in  it,  I 
they  would  have  been  out  of  the  range  of  our  guns, 
Up  to  this  period  we  had  found  no  eg^  ;  although  in  | 
a  bri^at-goose  which  I  killed  were  two  ready  for  lay- 
ing. 

In  several  of  my  excursions  inland,  I  was  astonished  I 
by  the  rapid  change  in  the  surface  of  the  country; 
which,  from  its  appearance  when  deeply  covered  with 
snow,  we  had  all  supposed  was  flat  and  regular,  loowl 
found,  that  although  low  (for  1  should  not  have  sup-l 
posed  the  highest  liill  to  be  above  200  feet),  it  ml 
rough,  stony,  and,  except  in  the  valleys,  of  ragg  ' 
masses  of  granite  and  gneiss.    There  was  one  remari[| 


I    ! 


ArFEA]tA]rc]ia  of  the  island. 


155 


able  feature  in  this  island,  which  I  had  also  observed 
in  other  places  during  the  preceding  sunuver;  and 
Tvbich  was,  that  on  the  most  elevated  spots  it  was  com- 
moD  to  find  ridges  of  rounded  shingle,  as  if  thrown  up 
by  the  action  of  the  waves,  by  whose  attrition  perhaps 
the  stones  had  been  worn  smooth.  On  some  of  these 
inland  beaches  1  found  fossil  marine  shells  In  masses  ;.  f 
limestone.  Our  collectors  of  specimens,  myself  amongst 
the  number,  found  frequent  detached  masses  of  clay 
iron-stone  ;  and  in  some  instances,  small  veins  of  iron 
pyrites  were  procured.  Only  one  block  of  sandstone 
was  seen  ;  but  lime  in  great  quantities  lay  amongst  the 
shingle ;  some  was  blacic  and  foetid,  but  the  general 
character  was  compact,  and  curiously  marked  through- 
out with  small  ferruginous  lines  and  curved  veins. 
Magnesian  limestone  was  scarce. 

Vegetation  could  scarcely  be  said  to  have  began  ;  as, 
exco.pting  the  saxifrage,  there  were  but  few  mosses 
I  and  irrasses  which  had  thrown  out  buds.  Every  rock 
jyas  mor^  or  less  covered  with  a  black  shrivelled  li- 
chen, having  the  same  appearance  as  the  little  dry 
blotch,  which  sometimes  rises  from  the  effect  of  heat 
on  wood  which  has  frequently  been  painted  black.  In 
the  bottom  of  many  little  transparent  pools  amoi^t  the 
rocks,  I  observed  a  few  plants  more  than  usually  for- 
ward, and  each  bud  was  enveloped  in  a  delicate  pearl- 
like bubble. 

On  all  the  eminences,  and  in  fact  wherever  a  large 
stone  could  be  found,  were  traces  of  the  Eskimaux, 
either  as  huts,  graves,  fox-traps,  &c. ;  and  there  was 
one  spot  near  the  Yackee  stone,  which  had  obtained 
the  name  of  the  Slaughter-house,  in  consequence  of  the 
j  immense  quantity  of  seal,  walrus,  and  other  bones,  left 
I  by  some  summer  settlers. 

liaving,  as  well  as  in  my  power,  given  a  short  de- 
Iscription  of  a  place  which  even  the  most  determined 
writer  could  not  say  much  about,  I  must  now  turn  to  a 
jmelancLoly  account  of  occurrences  in  the  Fury. 

William  Souter  (quarter-master),  who  had  for  six 
Idays  been  suiiering  from  an  inflammation  of  the.  bowels 


154 


DEATH  OV  TWO   SEAMEN. 


l[  & 


' ;  f  I'i 


'\  1/.  < 


» 


'j.'    * 


£1    $ 


died  on  this  evening.  This  sad  event,  it  was  supposed, 
tended  materially  to  hasten  the  end  of  John  Reid,  car- 
penter's mate,  who  had  for  several  months  been  in  a 
consumptive  state.  The  latter  poor  fellow  breathed 
his  last  on  the  following  day,  at  the  same  hour  as  Sou- 
ter  had  died,  and  as  he  had  himself  prognosticated  on 
hearing  of  the  decease  of  the  first.  Both  these  men 
were  esteemed  by  their  shipmates  and  officers,  and 
were  much  regretted. 

On  the  28th,  the  officers  and  men  of  each  ship  car- 
ried the  bodies  in  procession  to  the  east  hill,  where 
both  were  laid  in  the  same  grave.  Inscriptions  od 
«mall  slabs  of  limestone  were  placed  on  the  tombs  of 
Pringle  and  the  two  last  sufferers. 

On  the  30th,  our  sportsmen  added  to  our  list  a  deer, 
which,  although  large,  was  in  very  poor  condition; 
and  a  Sabroe  gull,  the  only  one  as  yet  procured  in  the 
course  of  our  voyage.  An  egg  of  the  king-duck  (we 
had  invented  a  new  name  in  ornithology,  calling  the 
females  "  queens")  was  brought  off  from  a  nest  of  turf 
and  grass  on  an  elevated  spot  in  a  swamp  :  no  dom  \ 
was  found  in  its  construction  ;  by  which  it  would  ap. 
pear,  that  the  females  do  not  pluck  it  from  their  breasts  j 
until  the  time  of  incubation  draws  to  a  close.  The  egg 
was  long,  but  small,  and  of  a  dull  greenish  yellow. 

The  wind  had  for  two  days  been  strong  from  the! 
northward,  with  much  snow  and  sleet ;  but  on  the  first 
it  veered  to  the  N.W.  whence  it  blew  in  heavy  squalls, 
The  sea  now  cleared  rapidly  to  the  eastward,  and  the 
bay  ice  gave  way  as  far  as  where  the  ships  were  lying. 
Four  Eskimaux  came  down  to  us,  and  we  learnt  that 
the  greater  part  of  them  had  returned  to  pitch  theicl 
tents  near  their  former  quarters. 

I  must  here  account  for  having  omitted  a  particulatl 
description  of  the  habits  and  peculiarities  of  this  extr^l 
ordinary  people,  but  as  we  were  confident  of  agaiDi 
meeting  with  them  on  our  summer  expedition,  I  thougbtl 
it  better  to  wait  till  I  could  more  closely  observe  theDi,| 
and  better  understand  their  language.  It  would  indeedl 
have  been  impossible  to  give  a  connected  account  of  al 


I 


bbwsrat's  pabtt. 


155 


ivhole  tribe,  merely  from  a  casual  view  of  one  half- 
starved  portion  of  it,  their  wants  having  so  broken  in 
upon  their  usual  pursuits,  that  in  no  one  instance  did 
ffe  see  a  family  acting  independently  of  our  assistance. 


CHAPTER  VL 

I  Leave  Winter  Island — Dangerous  navigation — The  coast— Bar- 
*  row  River — Walrus  killed — New  natives — Land  at  Igloolik— 
Tents— Inhabitants — Bad  weather — Hospitality  of  natives — 
State  of  the  ice — Bone  huts — Salmon  procured — Land  journey 
with  Tooleniak — Sledges — Fires — A  ball — The  koonik — Return 
on  board — Whale  killed — Off  Neilinakto— Captain  Parry  leaves 
us— His  return  and  discovery. 

With  a  fresh  breeze  from  the  N.W.  we  made  sail 
I  from  our  winter  quarters  at  7  a.  m.,  having  been  frozen 
in  for  two  hundred  and  sixty-seven  days  !  Our  first  run, 
after  sounding  the  S.E.  point,  or  Cape  Fisher,  was  op- 
Iposite  to  Adderley^s  Bluff,  where  we  made  fast  to  the 
lland  ice,  until  a  change  of  tide  had  set  the  loose  ice  off 
[shore,  and  allowed  us  in  the  evening  to  get  as  far  as 
|Point  Elizabeth,  where  we  remained  for  the  night. 

Early  on  the  3rd  we  made  a  few  miles  towards  Cape 
[Wilson,  and  the  tide  obliged  us  to  make  fast  to  the  land 
liloe.    A  short  time  before  we  stopped,  we  were  asto- 
nished by  seeing  Eewerat  and  his  little  party,  who  had 
left  us  thirty-nine  days  before,  travelling  along  the 
Bmooth  ice  about  two  miles  in-shore  of  us.    We  soon 
Iter  saw  a  man,  who  from  his  peculiar  gestures  we 
lagined  to  be  Kooilittiuk,  perch  himself  on  a  high 
tiummock,  about  half  a  mile  from  the  edge  of  the  land 
Ice,  where  he  continued  screaming  and  making  bows  un- 
^1  we  had  sailed  past  him.   The  ships  were  no  sooner  se- 
cured, than  Captain  Parry  sent  an  officer  to  bring  our 
rieDds  on  board.    From  the  Fury  they  came  under  our 
bows,  and  several  of  us  went  to  them  in  a  i)oat,  which,  as 
iey  had  never  before  seen  one  afloat,  caused  them  much 


if 


■■*->'■ 


"a»  •  1  :»*  T=.' 


r-»  -^^ 


IM 


liisfintvwss  iriUiiis.  <« 


V  \r 


\    i 


-«H 


amusem«nt.  Koollittiufc,  as  beiog  by  hr  the  greatest 
proficient  in  coMptimentary  EtigUsh,  had  coHstitutcd 
himseff  master  of  the  cereavunies ;  and  the  whole  party 
were  unfeignedly  glad  to  see  us ;  as  well  as  our  tin 
pots  of  various  shapes  and  sizes,  with  sundry  iron  hoops 
besides.  The  travellers  had  killed  only  two  deer,  but 
seals  had  been  so  plentiful  that  they  had  obtained  more 
than  the  numbers  of  "  all  their  fingers  and  toes."  They 
were  therefore  all  in  good  case,  very  greasy,  and  more 
than  usually  dirty.  Their  time  appeared  to  have  been 
spent  in  dragging  forward  their  heavy  load  by  easy 
stages,  and  taking  long  gormandizing  rests  as  food  pre- 
sented itself.  From  Eewerat,  who  was  the  only  per- 
son capable  of  giving  any  information,  1  learnt  that  he 
considered  us  as  ten  days  from  Amityook.  Cape  Wii. 
son  he  named  Attigil-root,  and  a  long  low  island  off  it, 
Aoo-lit-ti-wik  ;  both  which  places  agreed  in  every  re- 
spect  with  the  chart  he  had  formerly  drawn.  The 
tide  again  serving,  we  took  leave  of  the  Eskimaux,  and 
in  shaking  (hands,  Kooilittiuk,  with  a  knowing  look,  | 
endeavoured  to  persuade  his  friend  Mr.  Richards  to 
leave  his  gloves  behind  him.  He  bore  the  refusal,  | 
howiever,  with  great  magnanimity,  and  advancing  be- 
fore his  companions,  took  his  leave  by  a  bow,  and  the  I 
expressive  speech  of  **  Welly  well  I  taank  you,"  to 
which  three  cheers  were  add  ^  as  chorus  by  the  rest 
Ot)  securing  the  ships  in  the  evening,  the  heavy  ice  { 
came  down  on  us  with  such  force  as  to  snap  our  haw- 
sers, and  to  carry  us  on  board  the  Fury,  by  which  means  I 
we  broke  her  best  bower  anchor,  and  cut  our  waist  I 
boat  nearly  in  two.  It  was  not  until  the  pressure  ceas- 
ed that  we  again  got  clear ;  but  we  lay  in  dread  of  a  I 
repetition  of  this  destructive  siquee^e  during  the  whok 
night.  Since  leaving  Winter  Island  w'e  had  been  in  the 
habit  of  remarking  the  amazing  regtilatity  of  the  souod*! 
ings,  which  at  some  miles  fVom  the  i^hore  always  were| 
between  forty  and  fiAy  fathoms.  At  every  mile  we  \ 
tadced,  we  round  the  tides  more  impetuous,  and  thejl 
swept  past  the  edge  of  the  land  floe  at  the  rate  of  all 
feast  three  miles  an  hoar,  bringing  heavy  ice  dowol 


DAKOER  OT  THE  HEOKA. 


isr 


from  the  northward,  which  we  could  only  escape  \)j 
securing  the  ships  within  some  little  nook  or  point  in 
the  fast  icev  which  acted  as  a  fender. 

ui.  the  morning  of  the  4th,  the  pressure  was  so 
heavy  as  to  break  us  adrift  from  three  hawsers ;  %ve, 
however,  were  able  to  get  secure  again.  Casting  off 
in  the  forenoon,  we  towed  with  all  the  boats  for  a  short 
time  until  the  ice  again  began  to  set  in  on  us.  As  the 
Fury  followed  close  astern,  we  could  not  get  fast,  and 
to  avoid  again  being  carried  down  on  her,  we  were 
obhged  to  let  the  ice  take  us  where  it  would.  The 
same  stream  which  hampered  us,  left  the  Fury  in  clear 
water,  and  she  get  fast.  During  the  remainder  of  this 
day  and  night,  and  until  the  evening  of  the  5th,  we 
made  constant  but  fruitless  attempts  to  get  to  the  land 
floe,  and  in  one  instance  four  or  five  of  our  men  were 
each  on  separate  pieces  of  ice,  parted  from  us  in  the 
endeavour  to  run  out  a  hawser.  A  heavy  pressure, 
closing  the  loose  ice  unexpectedly  gave  them  a  road  oa 
I  board  again ;  and  but  for  this  circuriistance  we  must 
I  have  seen  them  carried  away  by  the  stream  to  certain 
I  destruction.  When  at  length  we  were  secured,  the 
[Fury  was  twelve  or  fourteen  miles  N.  E.  of  ns. 

Daring  the  6th  we  advanced  about  a  cable's  length, 
I  and  at  noon  experienced  so  heavy  a  pressure,  that  for 
la  quarter  of  an  hour  our  stern  was  lifted  two  feet  out 
[of  the  water,  when  the  ice  again  slackened,  and  the  ship 
Irighted.  We  were  afterwards  employed  in  towing  and 
[warping  all  night,  and  a  ligbt  breeze  favouring  us, 
ireached  ttie  Fury  by  noon  on  the  7th.  She  was  lying 
in  wait  for  us,  sheltered  in  a  bight  cf  the  land  ice  near 
|the  island  before  mentioned.  We  found  that  herspor^ls- 

lea  had  killed  a  deer  and  several  ducks,  and  a  flock  of 
Sabine  gulls  were  seen.  A  few  eggs  only  were  pick- 
Bd  up,  which  might  be  accounted  for  by  the  number  of 
[oxes  we  observed  to  be  foraging  about  the  island, 
starting  in  the  afternoon,  two  trips  carried  us  about  four 
pr  five  miles  on  our  way,  when  we  made  fast  early  on 
the  8th,  but  were  not  suiOfered  to  remain  long  in  tran- 
loiliitj.  The  flood-tide  coming  dowa  loaded  with  • 
U 


li  . 


■' '  J 


|;i 


|!    '  i\ 

h 


if 


15S 


IfAVeXB  OF  TSE  9DBCXA* 


more  than  ordinary  quantity  of  ice,  pressed  the  ship 
rery  mach  ct  between  6  and  7  a.  m.  and  rendered  it  ne- 
cessary to  get  the  stream  cable  out,  in  addition  to  the 
other  hawsers,  which  were  fast  to  the  land  ice.  This 
was  scarcely  accompiislieil,  vviien  a  very  heavy  and  ex- 
tensive floe  took  the  ship  en  her  broadside,  and  being 
backer^  by  another  larisfe  hoo)  of  ice,  gradually  lifted 
ber  siern  as  if  by  the  RCuon  <  I  a  wedge.  The  weight 
every  moment  increasing,  obliged  us  to  veer  on  the 
iiiiwsers,  whose  friction  was  so  great  as  nearly  to  cut 
ihrough  the  bitt-heads,  and  ultimately  to  set  them  oo  | 
fire,  so  that  it  became  rf^uisie  for  people  to  attend 
with  buckets  of  water.  The  pressure  was  at  length 
too  poweifu"  for  res'  'rmce.  and  the  stream-cable,  with 
two  SIX  and  one  f7ve-li;ch  hawsers,  all  gave  way  at  the 
same  moment :  three  others  soon  following  them.  The 
sea  was  too  full  of  ice  to  allow  the  ship  to  drive,  and 
the  only  way  in  which  she  could  yield  to  the  enormout  j 
weight  which  oppressed  her,  was  by  leaning  over  on  the 
land  ice,  while  her  stern  at  the  same  time  was  entirelj 
lifted  to  fibove  the  height  of  five  feet  out  of  the  water! 
The  lower  deck-beams  now  complained  very  much,  and  I 
the  whole  frame  of  the  ship  underwent  a  trial  which 
would  have  }>roved  fatal  to  any  less  strengthened  vessel. 
At  the  same  moment  the  rudder  was  unhung  with  a 
sudden  jerk,  which  broke  up  the  rudder-case,  and  struck 
the  driver  boom  with  great  force.  We  were  in  tbij 
state,  when  at  9  a.  m.  I  made  known  our  distresses  to 
Captain  Parr^r  by  telegraph,  as  1  clearly  saw  that  in  the  | 
event  of  another  floe  backing  the  one  which  lifted  u$, 
the  ship  must  inevitably  turn  over,  or  part  in  midships,! 
The  pressure,  however,  which  had  been  so  dangerousj 
to  us,  now  proved  our  best  friend ;  for  the  floe 
which  we  were  borne  burst  upwards,  unable  to  resistl 
its  force ;  the  ship  righted,  and  a  small  slack  occurriogl 
in  the  water,  drove  several  miles  to  the  southward  be-l 
fore  she  could  again  be  secured  and  get  the  roddeil 
hung ;  a  circumstance  much  to  be  regrettect.  at  the  mo*! 
ment,  as  our  people  had  been  employed  with  little  iD>| 
termission  for  three  days  and  nights,  attending  to  thel 


THB    COAST. 


159 


safety  of  the  ship  in  this  tremendous  tide-way.  It  may 
here  be  to  the  purpose  to  observe,  that  we  found  the 
good  tide  coining  from  the  northward,  and  generally 
ranniog  nine  hours,  while  the  ebb  seldom  exceeded 
three  or  four. 

Oq  the  forenoon  of  the  9th  we  again  made  sail,  after 
having  passed  a  very  anxious  night.  Constant  labour 
during  the  whole  day  advanced  us  about  two  miles  ;  but 
at  midnight  the  sea  opened,  the  wind  came  in  our  fa- 
vour, and  we  ran  to  the  northward,  in  spite  of  our  ene- 
my the  Hood-tide.  On  our  way,  we  picked  up  a  letter 
attached  to  a  boarding-pike,  which  had  been  left  by 
Captain  Parry  to  inform  me  of  the  state  of  the  ice  and 
soundings  in  the  place  where  we  saw  the  Fury  lying. 
I  now  learnt,  that  at  the  time  we  had  suffered  so  much 
from  the  heavy  pressure,  the  Fury  had  not  been  left  in 
repose,  but  had  moored  with  a  bower  cable  to  the  land 
ice ;  this  alone  had  enabled  her  to  ride  out  two  tides, 
aflter  which  she  shifted  into  a  bight  occasioned  by  a 
separation  of  the  land  ice.  We  continued  running  with 
a  fresh  breeze  in  company  with  the  Fury  until  5  a.  m. 
on  the  10th,  when  we  made  fast  to  some  heavy  ground- 
ed ice  close  to  the  land.  The  soundings  had  been  so 
regular,  that,  had  it  been  requisite,  we  could  have  ap* 
proached  to  within  half  a  cable's  length  of  the  beach, 
and  even  now  we  lay  in  five  fathoms  water  at  a  stone's 
throw  from  it.  This  enabled  a  party  to  take  a  walk 
on  the  shore,  and  we  ascended  to  the  rising  ground  by 
the  side  of  a  large  and  wild  water-course  rushing  with 
great  rapidity  over  a  rugged  bed  of  grey  gneiss.  The 
,  sides  were  overhung  by  steep  cliffs  of  snow,  and  from 
beneath  these  issued  several  small  streamlets  which 
joined  the  larger  rush  of  water.  The  land  was  high, 
1  but  not  irregular,  and  was  covered  in  many  places  with 
I  detached  pieces  of  granite,  quartz,  and  limestone. 
Where  this  superstrata  did  not  occur,  the  dark  grey 
gneiss  was  found.  The  valleys  were  swampy,  and  ia 
one  of  them,  there  was  a  lake  of  about  two  miles  in 
lei^h,  where  moss  and  rank  grass  were  abundant;  but 
the  only  two  plants  we  saw  ia  flower  were  the  blue 


m 


•I  / 


160 


THE    COAST. 


11 


saxifrage  and  a  few  yellow  poppies.  Sorrel  was  found, 
Ibat  of  so  diminutive  a  size  as  merely  to  snffice  to  show 
itself  amongst  short  moss.  The  whole  scene  was  deso- 
late in  the  extreme.  Eleven  deer,  however,  eDlivened 
it  a  little,  but  they  were  extremely  wary. 

Of  birds,  one  grouse,  and  a  few  buntins  were  seen, 
and  I  shot  two  Siberian  larks,  the  alauda  flava  of  Lin- 
Doius.  On  the  rocks  I  found  several  half  torpid  cater- 
pillars, and  about  thirty  coccoons,  which  latter  were  so 
numerous,  that  had  I  made  any  particular  search  for 
.  them,  hundreds  might  have  been  procured.  Hemains 
of  Eskimaux  tent  circles  and  hunting  coverts  were  scat- 
tered along  the  side  of  the  ravine,  where  I  found  a 
perfect  lamp,  which  1  was  about  to  clean  from  what  I 
supposed  to  be  an  accumulation  of  dirt,  when  1  dis- 
covered, that  instead  of  being  o^  the  lapis  olaris,  or 
pot-stone,  it  was  formed  of  several  pieces  of  granite 
cemented  together  in  a  way  which  we  had  neve" 
before  seen. 

During  the  11th,  we  were  twice  set  adrift  by  the 
floating  and  breaking  of  the  grounded  ice,  but  by  niglit 
were  aga^n  tolerably  secure,  and  in  some  measure  shel- 
tered from  the  tides,  which  rattled  past  us  with  great 
impetuosity.  A  calm  prevented  our  moving,  although 
the  sea  was  clear. 

On  the  12tii,  we  ran  a  few  miles  to  the  N.  E.,  until 
the  wind  failed,  and  the  boats  were  five  hours  in  tow- 
ing us  in-shorc,  where  we  made  fast  to  ice.  During 
the  evening  we  had  observed  a  considerable  notch  in 
the  land,  from  whence  a  current  set  outwards  with 
great  rapidity,  and  freshericd  the  surface  of  the  sea,  at 
a  distance  of  a  mile  from  the  shore.  At  night,  a  deer 
came  and  looked  down  on  the  ship  from  the  rocks, 
and  one  of  the  watch  had  merely  to  go  on  shore  and 
shoot  it. 

As  the  land  to  the  N.  E.  was  still  closely  beset  with 
ice,  and  the  wind  was  unfavourable  for  sailing,  1  ac- 
companied Captain  Parry  to  examine  the  place  we  bad 
seen  on  the  preceding  evening.  A  boat  was  at  the 
same  time  sent  from  each  ship  to  haul  the  Seine.    We 


BABBOW  BiTEB. 


161 


soon  found  ourselves  at  the  entrance  of  a  river,  but 
ivere  not  able  to  proceed  above  a  mile  or  two  up  it, 
before  our  progress  was  arrested  by  a  »matl  fall,  or 
rapid.  At  this  place  the  stream  was  about  as  broad 
as  the  Thames  at  Vauxhall.  We  here  hauled  the 
boats  on  the  beach,  and  proceeded  up  a  rhing  ground, 
in  order  to  command  a  better  iTiew.  Betore  we  had 
advanced  a  mile,  we  heard  the  roaring  of  a  cataract, 
and  arrived  at  the  top  of  a  very  magnificent  cascade, 
surrounded  by  the  most  picturesque  and  romantic 
scenery. 

When  we  had  examined,  for  a  time,  this  new  and 
interesting  object,  lead  lines  were  brought  from  the 
boat,  and  the  result  of  our  observations  gave  the 
height  of  the  fall  as  follows.  Where  the  principal  fall 
commences  its  descent,  the  breadth  is  about  forty-five 
yards ;  from  thence  the  first  leap  is  about  fifteen  feet, 
at  an  angle  of  nearly  thirty  degrees  from  a  vertical 
line,  and  then  becoming  narrower,  (or  from  thirty-fiVe 
to  forJy  yards,)  it  falls  perpendicularly  ninety  feet 
more,  or  105  in  total  height.  The  basin  which  receives 
this  immense  body  of  water  is  somewhat  of  a  circular 
form,  and  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  diameter,  being 
rather  more  than  the  breadth  of  the  reach  immediate- 
ly below  it.  Before  returning  on  board,  1  crossed  the 
lower  stream,  in  order  to  obtain  a  front  view  of  thd 
cascade,  and  found  it  extremely  magnificent ;  the  posi- 
tion-of  the  sun  creating  a  delicate  rainbow  in  the  im- 
mense clouds  of  spray  which  arose  to  the  height  of 
seventy  or  eighty  feet. 

I  traced  the  river  a  short  distance  above  the  cascade, 
and  observed  three  other  rapids,  really  deserving 
their  name ;  the  clear  stream  running  over  them  with 
great  force.  The  course  was  in  a  winding  direction 
to  the  westward,  and  the  banks  were  extremely  wild 
and  striking.  Rocks  of  gneiss  and  granite  sometiihes 
hemmed  the  stream,  but  more  generally  its  shores 
were  gently  sloping  from  the  plains,  which  abounded 
I  in  flowery  vegetation;  it  was  impossible  to  look  on 
this  first  interesting  country  we  had  seen,  without  faa- 
14* 


I'M 


MP  ' 

m'' 

w  ■ 

m  ]  : 

162 


Mn, 


if.i.}t .. 


V 


'<  "i 


II'  ^      s 

I  "    ff'  <•  / 


>VAXIIUS  KILLED. 


cyibg  that  the  air  was  scented  and  more  pure  tliai 
usual,  and  that  it  might,  without  detraction,  remind  m 
of  the  scenery  of  a  better  land.  In  the  swamps  1  found 
several  chalybeate  streamlets,  one  of  which  savoured 
'itrcngly  of  iron.  Deer  abounded  in  the  valley  ;  four 
oi  th4»m  were  killed,  and  several  wounded  ;  king  and 
eider  duck<t  skimmed*  along  the  water,  and  black  and 
red-throated  divers  were  also  seen.  The  golden  plover 
was  frequently  met  with,  and  a  pair  of  hawks,  which 
had  built  their  nest  on  a  steep  cliff  near  the  principal 
fall,  whirled  repeatedly  over  our  heads,  while  we  con- 
tinued  near  the  foot  of  the  rock.  One  of  our  people 
brought  me  an  exceedingly  pretty  nest  with  five  egg?, 
of  the  snow  buntin.  This  was  lined  with  rein-deer's 
hair  in  the  same  neat  manner  as  those  of  our  chaf- 
finches,, and  the  outer  part  was  grass. 

Our  boats  of  fishermen  met  with  no  success,  merely 
catching  one  ugly  looking  fish,  which  was  immediately 
recognised  by  the  seamen  as  what  they  called  a  bull- 
bead.  Could  the  boats  have  got  to  the  basin  at  Iho 
foot  of  the  fail,  I  have  no  doubt  they  would  have  had 
better  success,  as  from  the  remains  of  Eskimaux  dwel- 
lings 1  am  inclined  to  think  that  salmon  might  have 
been  procured. 

We  all  returned  on  board,  highly  delighted  with  our 
day's  discoveries,  which  made  a  stronger  impression 
on  us  from  comparison  with  the  desolation  and  wretch- 
edness of  every  other  place  we  had  before  visited.  If 
I  might  judge  by  my  own  feelings,  every  one  who  had 
been  on  shore  went  to  bed  a  little  home-sick. 

During  the  night  we  had  a  most  favourable  run  to 
the  northward,  but  on  the  morning  of  the  I4tb,  thick 
weather  and  a  change  of  wind  checked  us  a  good  deal. 
Tn  the  course  of  the  day  we  made  some  low  land,  which 
answered  to  the  description  given  of  Amit-yook.  We 
contmued  working  alongshore,  (in  twenty-five  fathomi', 
at  the  distance  of  eight  and  ten  miles,)  until  on  the 
15th,  when  tjie  wind  came  lightly  round  in  our  favour. 
<^  some  stream  ice  near  us  were  several  herds  of 
«ealruses  basking  in  the  sun ;  and  I  went,  accompamed 


WAI.RITSSS. 


168 


by  Mr.  Fife,  to  procure  one.    They  allowed  us  even 
to  Innd  on  the  pieces  of  ice  on  which  thej  hiy,  before 
they   commenced   their   cumbrous  retreat,  facing  us, 
with  open  mouths.     We  killed  one,  but  he  sunk  before 
we  could  get  the  boat  to  him,  and  wounded  several 
others,  when,  seeing  the  Fury's  boat  had   been  more 
successful,  we  went  to  assist  in  towing  her.     On  our 
way  we  met  a  male  and  female  attended  by  their  cub, 
and  soon  wounded  the  two  old  ones.     They  fought  us 
however  with  desperation,  and  would  not  retreat    The 
female,  on  being  killed,  was  secured  alongside,  but  the 
male,  even  when  shot  in  three  place!i>,  and  having  two 
lances  sticking  in  him,  attacked  us  furiously,  although 
each  time  he  approached,  he  received  a  bayonet  to  the 
socket.     Having  at  last  driven  him  near  the  Fury's 
boat,  our  joint  efforts  despatched  him,  after  about  ten 
minutes  struggle.     This  brave  animal  had  repeatedly 
attempted  to  hook  his  tusks  over  the  gunwale  of  the 
boat,  bad  stove   her  slightly  in  three  places,  and  left 
eight  deep  marks  on  her  bow.     The  cub,  which  was 
black  and  without  tusks,  continued  by  its  parents  during 
the  whole    combat,    and    frequently    endeavoured  to 
mount  on  the  back  of  whichever  first  rose  to  the  sur- 
face.   To  this  may  be  attributed  the  more  than  usual 
fierceness  of   the    old    ones,    whose    fears   for   their 
offspring  prevented  their  own  escape.     The  female, 
on  being  hoisted  in,  was  considered  as  rather  small  by 
those  who  were  judges.     On  each  side  she   had  two 
teats,  almost  concealed  in  the  belly,  but  they  could  be 
pulled  out  to  the  size   and  length  of  those  of  a  sow. 
The  stomach  contained  only  about  3lbs.  of  pebbles,  and 
a  handful  of  seaweed.     The  blubber  was  not  above  two 
inches  in  thickness,  perhaps  owing  to  the  animal's  be- 
ing reduced  by  suckling   its   young.     The    flesh  was 
coarse  and  dark-coloured,  but  the  greater  part  of  us 
preferred  it  to  such  thin  venison  as  had  at  this  time 
been  procured.     During  the  night  we  continued  run- 
ning slowly  to  the  northward,  passing  a  cluster  of  three 
or  four  small  islands,  on  which  were  the  appearances 
of  large  stone  huts,  although  we  saw  no  people.    On 


')W   ;; 


ih'  3  ! 


I  1      'f' 


.?  ,i« '  J 


164 


.'TIB"'-  TfATITES. 


loose  pieces  of  ice  near  the  shore,  such  a  quantity  of 
walruses  were  lying,  that  some  of  our  officers  who  had 
been  in  Spitzbei^en  aMured  me  they  had  never  before 
seen  them  so  numerous. 

As  we  advanced  on  the  morning  of  the    1 6th,  we 
still  continued   to  see  more  land,   all  of  which  bore 
the  same  character  of  flatness  as  that  we  had  latelj 
passed,  and  we  at  length  came  to  a  track  of  flat  and 
unbroken  ice,  extending,  as  far  as  we  could  observe, 
to   the    land  north   of  it.      A    view  from  the  crowds 
nest    in    an   instant  showed    us  the    very    positioDi 
which  had  been  laid   down  with   such  admirable  ac* 
curacy  by  Iligliak !     At  nine  in  the  forenoon  several 
tents  were  seen  on  shore,  and  we  bore  up  to  commu- 
nicate with  the  natives,  whom  we   observed  comiog 
off  in  five    kayaks.     Captain   Parry  in  one  boat,  and 
myself  in  another,  with  several  of  our  officers,  went 
to  join  them.     The  strangers  at  first  showed  evident 
signs  of  timidity,   and   would   not   for  some  time  ap. 
proach  u»,  until  on  receiving  a  few  presents  their  re* 
serve   wore    ofi*,  and    all   crowded    round    us,  asking 
questions — "  Who  are  you,  what  are  you,  whence  do 
ye  come,  what  is  your  name,  what  d'  ye  want  ?''  &c. 
with  great  rapidity  and  anxiety.     We  now  fortunately 
understood  enough  of  their  language  to  answer  them 
satisfactorily,  and  our  friendship   was   therefore  soon 
established.     One   fine-looking  fellow,  in  a  bear  skin 
coat,  hung  on  by  our  boat,  and  was  delighted  at  hearing 
tidings  of  our  Winter  Island  people.     His  wife,  he  in- 
formed us,  was  sister  to  Okotook  and  Togo rlat,  and  his 
own  name  was  Innook-shToo.     As  the  weather  had  be- 
come thick,  and  snow  fell  with  a  fresh  breeze,  we  could 
not  see  the  laud  ;  but  our  new  friends  piloted  us  along 
the  edge  of  the  ice,  and  their  kayaks  cut  gracefully 
over  a  rolling  sea  which  was  rising.     After  a  very  long 
pull  we  came  to  a  creek  in  the  ice,  and  saw  tents  on 
shore,  at  about  half  a  mile  from  us.     Our  boats  being  j 
hauled  on  the  ice,  the  cries  of  our  guides  soon  brought 
out  the  whole  population,  who  hastened  towards  us, 
but  with  evident  signs  of  fear,  until  assured  by  thow  | 

■f^     -■ 


TENTS. 


165 


tvho  led  us  by  tbe  hand,  of  our  friendly  intentions.    In- 
nook-shioo,  who  had  taken  charge  of  me,  hurried  me 
forward  as  fast  as  he  could  run,  and  each  of  our  party 
found  some  one  to  conduct  him  in  the  same  manner. 
Some  old  men  were  amongst  the  first  we  stopped  to 
speak  with,  and  three  of  them  carried  spears  or  staffs 
made  of  one  entire   piece  of  ivory  of  the   unicornis 
horn.    They  all,  on  approaching,  quietly  stroaked  their 
breasts,  repeating  the  wordtii  Mtin-ik-to-mi  and  Tai-ma. 
One  of  the  old  people  presented  me  his  ivory  spear  on 
seeing  me  look   at  it,  and  fell  back,  not  expecting  any 
return;  he  however  considered  a  knife,  which  I  gave 
Mm,  as  a  most  valuable  equivalent,  and  held  it  up  with 
great  satisfaction  to  show  to  the  others.     Captain  Par- 
ry's party  had   proceeded  to  the  larger  assemblage  of 
tents,  while   we  went  to  five   which  were  about  half  a 
mile  from  them.     All  the  people   we  met   were  intro- 
duced to  us  by  name,  but  in  a  very  hurried  manner,  as 
my  conductor  did  not  slacken   his  pace   until   close  to 
his  own  tent ;   where,  at  the  entrance,  stood   his  wife 
with  two  walrus  tusks,  which  she  threw  rudely  towards 
us,  and  then  ran  away.     The  husband,  however,  soon 
pacified  her,  and  we  all  went  into  their  little  dwelling. 
The  lady,  whose  name  was  Ang-mft-l66-td6-een-gfi,  was 
some  years  younger,  and  much  better  looking  than  her 
sister  Togorlat,   and   might  have   been  called  a  pretty 
woman  even  in    Europe.     I   quite    delighted   her  by 
speaking  of  her  relatives,  and  showing  the  kakeen  her 
sister  had   worked   on  my  arm.     All  the   Winter  Island- 
news  was  talked  over,  and  I  found  in  each  of  the  other 
tents  some  of  our  officers  giving  the  same  information 
to  attentive  audiences.     Tents  now   taking  the  place 
of  huts  in  my  narrative,  i  made  a  sketch  of  Innook- 
hioos,  which  was  single,  and  one  of  the  best;  and  1  may 
las  well  endeavour  at  once  to  describe  these  dwelling^) 
]a  few  minuets  sufficing  to  show  us  their  whole  con- 
jstruction. 

The  covering  is  of  the  skin  of  the  walrus,  cut  into 
llayers  of  about  the  thickness  of  a  dollar,  and  extreme* 
|ly  transparent  and  oily.    At  the  end  facing  the  nortli, 


166 


INHABITANTS. 


M 


* 


"( 


Tij 


\  'm-^i 


seals'  skins,  with  the  hair  still  on  them,  form  a  good 
defence  against  the  cold  winds.  Beneath  this  part  i» 
the  sleeping  place,  alone  distinguished  by  having  seve- 
ral  deer  skins  spread  on  the  bare  ground.  All  the 
seams  of  the  covering  are  sewed  together  with  such 
care  as  to  be  perfectly  water-proof,  and  the  entrance 
has  additional  skins,  which  are  flapped  over  and  kept 
fast  by  having  a  stone  placed  on  the  lower  edge.  To 
support  the  tent,  a  pole  of  bones  lashed  together,  some 
brok.ia  spears,  or,  in  a  few  instances,  an  unicornis  born 
is  used,  and  to  increase  the  height,  is  placed  on  a  large 
stone  in  the  centre.  The  diameter  of  the  base  is  tOD, 
twelve,  or  fourteen  feet,  according  to  the  circumatauces 
cr  number  of  inmates ;  and  when  a  tent  is  double,  it  is 
merely  formed  by  joining  the  mouths  of  two  single 
ones,  and  making  the  opening  on  one  side.  Besides 
the  portion  1  have  called  the  sleeping  place,  there  is 
but  little  standing  room,  as  on  one  side  of  the  door  is 
accumulated  aa  immense  heap  of  flesh,  blubber,  bones, 
birds,  eggs,  &c.  &c.  &c.  which  Ue  at  the  mercy  of  the 
heels  of  all  who  enter,  the  juices  forming  an  iotoiera' 
bly  filthy  mud  on  the  shingle  floor.  From  this  profu* 
sioQ  of  delicacies,  thus  jumbled  together,  it  may  be 
unnecessary  to  add  that  the  food  of  the  family  is  select- 
ed as  wanted.  The  bottom  of  the  tent  covering  is 
fastened  down  either  by  large  stones  or  a  mound  of 
gravel  piled  over  it,  and  the  top  of  the  pole  has  one 
or  two  skin  lines  carried  from  it  for  security  and  slea* 
dmess.        .  i;._  ,  •  -,.;>■  -   ^'M-' 

Wherever  vre  went,  the  inhabitants  prqduced  all 
their  little  store  of  valuables  for  sale,  but  they  appear- 
ed miserably  poor,  ill  clothed  in  dirty  deer  skins,  and 
not  having  sutficient  bedding  to  make  them  comfortable 
at  night.  On  the  other  hand  they  were  fat,  and  bad  i 
provisions  in  abundance ;  even  their  dogs  were  in  high 
condition,  numerous,  and  the  most  beautiful  animals  of 
the  kind  I  had  ever  seen.  The  people  were  very  well 
behaved;  free,  without  being  rade,  and  eitremely 
anxious  to  show  us  attention.  £ach  was  much  pleased 
wheD  we  entered  his  teut,  thanking  oi  for  to  doing,! 


BAD  iniATHEft* 


167 


rm  a  good 
this  part  is 
aving  seve- 
d.  All  the 
r  with  such 
le  entrance 
it  and  kept 
•  edge.  To 
rether,8ome 
ncorn's  horn 
id  on  a  large 
(  base  is  ten, 
ircuoistances 
,  double,  it  is 
f  two  single 
tde.  Besides 
iace,  there  is 
f  the  door  ii 
ubber,  bones, 
mercy  of  the 
g  an  intolera* 
D  this  profu- 
•r,  it  may  be 
mily  18  select- 
covering  is 
a  mound  of 
pole  has  one 
inty  and  stea. 

produced  all 
they  appear- 
eer  skins,  and 
xa  comfortable 
fat,  and  had 
)  were  in  high 
iful  animals  of 
were  very  well 
ind  extremely 
much  pleased 
for  ib  doing, 


and  offering  us  a  seat  on  the  deer  skins.  We  were 
shown  the  father,  brothers,  and  other  relations  of  Koo- 
ilittiuk,  which  now  cleared  ns  of  an  error  into  which 
ive  had  fallen,  of  fancying  ourselves  at  Amityook  ;  in- 
stead of  which  we  learnt  that  the  land  was  insular,  and 
was  called  Ig-loo-lik,  the  northernmost  inhabited  island 
laid  down  by  Uigliak.  The  young  wife  of  Toolooag- 
hioo  was  shown  us ;  a  very  pretty  well-grown  girl, 
about  fourteen  years  of  age,  with  a  pair  of  fine  black 
eyes.  She  asked  several  questions  about  her  husband, 
who  was  soon  expected  to  come  for  her,  and  was  pleased 
at  hearing  that  he  had  plenty  of  tin  pots  and  was  an 
expert  seal  catcher ;  neither  did  she  seem  sorry  to  find 
that  be  was  well  grown  and  handsome. 

There  were  at  this  time  seventeen  tents  along  the 
beach,  and  we  supposed  ihe  natives  to  amount  in  num- 
ber to  120.  Near  each  tent  was  a  canoe  placed,  bot- 
tom upwards,  with  stones  laid  over  to  prevent  its  being 
blown  away.  The  paddle,  spears,  and  equipage  lay 
near,  on  the  ground. 

In  the  afternoon  the  wind  and  drift  increased  consi- 
derably, and  the  loose  ice  off  the  edge  of  the  land  fine 
^  was  set  in  motion  by  a  rolling  swell.     Captain  Parry, 
;  fearing  the  weather  would  become  each  moment  more 
unfavourable,  decided  on  going  off  at  once  ;  for,  al- 
I  though  we  could  not  see  half  a  mile,  he  hoped  that  the 
I  hourly  fog  signal  of  a  gun  would  direct  us.     The  boats 
were  launched,  which  gave  most  of  us  a  good  cold  bath, 
and  out  we  pulled.     The  Fury's  boat  soon  got  out  of 
sight,  ours  being  a  gentlemen  crew,   and  we  continued 
to  struggle  against  wind,  sea,  sleet,  and  rolling  ice  for 
two  hours,  when,  having  shipped  two  seas,  we  bore  up 
[before, a  third  should  swamp  us,  and   made   for  the  fast 
lice,  directed  by  the  sea   we  beard  beating  against  it. 
JAfter  much  anxiety  we  got  the  boat  through  some  large 
Ipieces,  which  occasionally  met  with  a  heavy  crush,  and 
[hauling  her  up  on  the  fine,  wc  dragged  her  to  the 
Ifihore,  which  we  found  to  be  about  a  mile  off.     The 
lEskimaux  no  sooner  saw  our  distress,  than  disregarding 


m 


1,  *■•' 


168 


THB   WOMEir.>^^ 


I)  I' 


the  weather,  they  came  in  a  body,  and  assisted  to  get 
the  boat  up  a  steep  bank  of  shingle  forming  the  beach, 
and  to  turn  her  bottom  upwards.  As  we  could  not  stay 
by  her,  we  lay  of  course  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  the 
natives,  who  might,  if  they  had  so  pleased,  have  strip. 
ped  her  of  every  thing  in  the  night-time.  I  however 
made  a  long  oration,  in  which  I  believe  nothing  was  un- 
derstood, but  that  1  had  plenty  of  tin  pot&,  which  should 
be  distributed  if  1  found  them  honest.  An  old  man  then 
said  something  which  seemed  to  influence  the  crowd, 
who  all  followed  us,  and  1  do  not  believe  a  single  per- 
son went  within  twenty  yards  of  the  boat  (luring  the 
whole  night,  although  she  lay  directly  in  the  path  be- 
tween the  two  groups  of  tents,  and  contained  an  im- 
mense treasure  of  wood  and  iron  ;  both  which  sub- 
stances had  scarcely  ever  been  seen  amongst  the  tribe, 

We  all  found  tents  to  receive  us,  the  hospitable  na- 
tives showing  great  anxiety  to  shelter  our  cold  and 
dripping  party.  Myself  and  three  other  officers  were 
conducted  to  a  large  double  tent,  where  a  womcii  \va< 
brought  to  each  to  pull  off"  and  wring  our  wet  gar- 
ments, and  to  assist  in  clothing  us  with  the  fur  dresses, 
which  the  men  had  stripped  themselves  of  to  give  us,  | 
We  were  then  put  in  full  possession  of  a  sleeping  place, 
and  though  with  one  skin  only  to  cover  us,  it  was  their] 
all ;  and  even  the  dirt  and  smell  of  the  tent  were  for- 
gotten in  the  delightful  hospitality  of  our  entertainers, 
who  thus  tried  every  means  in  their  power  to  make  ml 
comfortable.  The  weather,  as  we  expected,  became 
extremely  severe,  yet  our  host  took  on  himself  the 
charge  of  watching  the  boat,  going  out  frequently,  and 
returning  with  the  report  that  all  was  well. 

When,  after  an  hour  or  two,  the  tent  was  cleared  of  I 
the  numerous  visitors  who  came  to  look  at  us,  Ango-f 
wfjsh-ya  (its  master)  asked  if  the  women  should  sing, 
which,  on  our  assenting,  they  commenced  doinf  vvithl 
great  glee,  while  he  exhibited  as  a  dancer,  watchion 
our  looks  very  anxiously  to  observe  if  his  endeavoun| 
to  please  were  successful.  To  the  dance  was  added! 
exhibition  of  grimaces,  and  the  extraordinary  gutturall 


i'M 


BETUBN  ON  BOABD. 


169 


cries  of  the  women ;  which  being  finished,  it  became 
our  turn  to  sing,  and  we  gave  them  some  noisy  chorus- 
es, eyen  thongh  we  were  still  so  chilled  that  our  teeth 
chattered.  The  women  observing  this,  tucked  us  up 
as  well  as  they  could,  spreading  boots,  mittens,  raw 
duck  skins,  and  whatever  else  they  could  collect  over 
our  legs  ;  while  the  men  carefully  stopped  up  the  cracks 
in  the  tent,  covering  them  with  bunches  of  feathers. 
At  length  the  endeavours  of  our  female  attendants 
were  successful,  and  those  kind  attentions  which  their 
tender  sex  have  ever  paid  to  men  in  distress,  were  suf- 
ficient to  warm  the  whole  of  our  party.  Our  host  re- 
maiQi^d  standing  all  night,  which  no  doubt  was  intended 
as  a  mark  of  respect  for  us.  At  about  eight  o'clock, 
^ve  were  agreeably  surprised  by  seeing  one  of  the  Fu- 
ry's people,  who  informed  us  that  Japtain  Parry  had 
been  obliged  to  follow  our  example,  and  was  now  at 
the  distant  tents. 

The  morning  of  the  17th  was  but  little  more  favour- 
able for  going  off,  as  we  could  see  ::iOthing  of  the  ships ; 
at  four,  however,  we  started,  hr.^ing  given  every  thing 
in  our  possession  to  our  hospitable  entertainers.  Every 
oDe  was  anxious  to  have  a  share  in  launching  the  boat 
over  the  floe,  and  several  mi^n,  bearing  their  kayaks 
OD  their  heads,  and  ai^ronipanied  by  women,  carrying 
the  paddles  and  spears,  walked  down  also.  Eleven  of, 
them  put  to  sea  wii:h  un,  dthough  we  could  not  discern 
the  ships,  and  it  was  nn  until  the  expiration  of  four 
tedious  hou<.s  that  we  heard  guns,  and  arrived  on  board 
the  Hecla.  Our  different  hosts,  boats  and  all,  were 
taken  into  the  ship,  where  they  received  abundant 
presents  for  themselves  and  families.  A  light  breeze 
soon  separated  us  from  our  friends,  who  now  made  for 
the  shore  again,  and  we  stood  for  what  we  supposed 
the  head  of  the  baj. 

The  people  we  had  now  seen  were  all  connected 
by  birth  and  marriage  with  our  winter  friends,  yet  it 
was  the  general  opinion  that  they  exhibited  a  greater 
variety  of  feature.  The  young  people  of  both  sexes 
were,  many  of  them,  good  looking  and  even  handsome : 
15 


!•■'■  !^ 


'ii)-i 


ri 


iro 


STATE   07  TOE   I€E. 


s3TeraI  of  the  men  had  stronger  beards  than  we  had 
before  seen,  and  in  one  case,  of  a  reddish  brown  colour. 
The  kakeen  of  the  women  was  neither  so  abundftntly 
or  neatly  marked  as  in  the  former  tribe ;  though  on 
seeing  us  examining  their  arms,  many  of  them  exult- 
ingly  pulled  up  the  knees  of  their  breeches,  to  show 
that  even  their  legs  were  not  devoid  of  ornament. 
Two  women  had  each  lost  a  finger,  one  of  whom 
showed  us  in  pantomime,  that  her  husband  had  sawed 
it  off  in  consequence  of  a  swelling ;  a  man  also  had  lost 
a  finger  by  a  seal ;  and  we  observed  a  fine  looking  fel- 
low  much  maimed  about  the  eye  and  temple,  from  th^ 
biVe  of  a  she  bear,  which,  with  her  two  cubs,  he  had 
attacked  and  killed.  As  we  saw  nothing;'  of  the  surface 
of  the  island,  and  were  again  to  rei.  .a  to  it,  I  shall 
now  take  my  leave  of  the  Eskimaux,  and  return  to  our 
ships ;  which,  as  I  learnt  from  Mr.  Hoppner^  had  been 
very  unpleasantly  situated  at  one  period  of  the  stormy 
night  which  was  past.  The  wind  and  thick  weather 
troubled  us  during  the  whole  day,  and  the  ships  were 
alone  ecaMed  to  keep  together  by  fog  signals. 

The  weather  clearing  on  the  18th,  e:  abled  us  to 
see  the  flat  unbroken  ice,  extending  from  about  east 
to  west,  and  filling  a  deep  apparent  bay,  formed  by 
distant  land  to  the  northward.  We  now  had  an  ad- 
mirable subject  for  the  trial  of  our  patience,  as  until 
the  dissolution  or  breaking  up  of  the  ice-field,  we  must 
unavoidably  remain  at  it^  edge.  We  rounded  the  S.  E. 
point  of  land,  and  beating  up  until  the  evening  of  the 
19th,  again  came  to  a  similar  floe,  lying  across  a  hay 
or  bight,  of  which  the  land  was  but  indistinctly  seen 
from  the  mast-head.  Its  appearance  however  was 
broken,  and  its  extent  from  about  west  to  S.  £.  On 
the  ^Oth,  we  bore  up  for  Igloolik,  where  on  the  23d  a 
party  landed  from  each  ship.  On  our  way  to  the  shore, 
the  sea  was  so  smooth  between  some  patches  of  young 
ice  formed  during  the  night,  that  we  observed  the 
spray  from  the  oars  to  run  in  little  silvery  globules 
along  the  surface,  in  the  same  manner  as  quicksilvor 
on  any  hard  plane  ;  and  it  was  not  till  the  expiration  of 


BONE   HUTS. 


in 


live  or  six  seconds,  that  these  brilliant  drops  stopped^ 
and  suddenly  mingled  with  the  other  water. 

Our'-friends  met  us  at  the  edge  of  the  ice,  and  haul- 
ing up  our  boats,  led,  or'  rather  dragged  us,  to  their 
tents.  One  woman,  far  advanced  in  pregnancy,  had 
partaken  so  largely  in  the  general  frenzy,  that  she  ab- 
solutely foamed  at  the  n  outh,  and  had  all  the  appear- 
ance of  being  raving  mad :  the  fit  however  gradually 
wore  off,  and  she  became  pale  and  composed.  With 
many  others  I  visited  the  winter  huts,  which  were  de- 
cidedly the  most  extraordinary  edifices  I  had  ever  seen, 
being  entirely  constructed  of  the  bones  of  whales,  uni- 
corns, walruses,  and  smaller  animals,  the  interstices 
being  filled  with  earth  and  moss :  they  were  domed, 
and  the  base  of  the  largest  was  seventeen  or  eighteea 
feet,  its  height  about  nine.  A  thick  coating  of  soot  and 
lilth  covered  the  interior  of  these  abodes,  of  which 
there  were  five,  and  a  most  noisome  efiluvia  exhaled 
from  them  ;  the  entrances  were  rudely  arched,  not  ex- 
tending tar,  but  extremely  low.  The  whole  of  the 
buildings  were  so  dilapidated,  that  we  were  enabled  to 
seethe  interior  without  entering;  which  was  not  to 
be  regretted,  on  account  of  the  state  they  were  in. 
The  ground  all  around  was  strewed  with  skulls  and 
skeletons  of  animals ;  and  human  heads  were  picked 
up,  to  the  amount  of  at  least  a  dozen  !  Bones  indeed 
were  so  numerous,  that  we  literally  trod  on  them.  A 
large  stagnant  field  of  mud  surrounded  the  place,  add- 
ing its  full  share  of  sweets,  as  it  was  constantly  plough- 
ed up  by  all  who  walked  through  it  to  the  huts  :  the 
bottom  of  this  also  felt  as  if  covered  with  bones.  Near 
at  hand  were  several  large  tumuli,  which  had  former- 
ly been  dwellings,  but  which  were  now  solid  moss- 
covered  mounds.  From  their  appearance  in  decidedly 
different  states  of  antiquity,  from  the  very  slow  pro- 
gress either  of  vegetation  or  decay  in  a  country  which 
for  at  least  nine  months  in  the  year  is  frozen  as  hard 
as  a  rock,  and  from  the  natives  never  recollecting  them 
as  being  inhabited,  I  am  led  to  suppose  t^t  the  island 
of  Igloclik  must  have  been,  for  centuries, we  residence 


M. 


%'i^ 


ifH 


A  BASKET. 


'.'  'I: 


of  Eskimaux.  It  is  strange  that  the  skulls  of  men 
should  have  been  left  to  lie  neglected  under-foot  amongst 
those  of  all  kinds  of  animals  :  but  the  natives  treated 
the  matter  with  the  utmost  indifference ;  and  a  lad  who 
accompanied  me  a  few  miles  inland  to  shoot,  carried 
down  to  the  boat  for  me  a  couple  of  human  heads,  I 
had  found  near  a  lake,  with  the  sime  willingnesses 
some  ducks  which  I  had  killed.  In  the  course  of  my 
ramble,  I  saw  four  more  of  these  remnants  of  Eski- 
maux, which  were  eagerly  pointed  out  bjr  the  boy, 
when  he  saw  I  was  interested  in  them.  Near  one,  a 
stone  cooking-vessel  was  lying,  and  had  probably  been 
buried  at  the  same  time  as  the  body. 

In  addition  to  the  above  specimens,  I  was  so  fortu- 
nate, after  a  long  chase,  as  to  shoot  a  snowy  owl,  as 
extremely  rare  and  beautiful  bird,  and  seldom  seen 
even  in  these  regions.  Naturalists  place  it  between 
the  eagle  and  the  owl ;  and  indeed  all  its  motions,  when 
first  wounded,  bore  far  greater  resemblance  to  the 
former  than  to  the  latter  bird  :  its  size  was  immense. 
It  is  remarkable  that  the  white  owl  sees  equally  well 
as  other  birds,  in  the  most  bright  weather,  and  always 
takes  its  prey  by  daylight. 

Amongst  some  other  trifling  purchases  which  1  made, 
was  a  small  round  basket,  composed  of  grass,  in  pre- 
cisely the  same  manner  as  these  constructed  by  the 
Tibboo,  in  the  southern  parts  of  Fezzan,  and  agreeing 
with  them  also  in  its  shape.  This  is  a  most  striking 
coincidence,  that  savages  who  dwell  in  the  extremes 
of  heat  and  cold,  should,  with  nature  only  for  their 
guide,  both  use  the  same  method,  although  not  the 
same  material,  in  the  formation  of  their  baskets.  It 
was  my  wish  to  buy  some  of  the  kow,  or  tent-covering, 
of  thinned  walrus  hides,  but  I  found  none  which  was 
not  ia  use.  A  poor  fellow,  however,  seeing  a  knife 
oftered  in  exchange,  ran  instantly  and  made  an  attack 
on  his  tent,  in  which  his  wife  was  sitting,  and  they  both 
began  cutting  it  to  pieces  before  I  could  prevent  them. 
The  coverl||  being  all  in  patches,  I  refused  to  buy 
any  part  ofW,  but  the  poor  wife  sat  down  so  content- 


tSi.{!ii,i-     •  -,. 


TOOLEMAK. 


ITS 


Ib  of  men 
)ot  amongst 
ves  treated 
1  a  lad  who 
»ot,  carried 
an  heads,  1 
llingness  as 
lurse  of  my 
its  of  Eski- 
»y  the  boy, 
!^ear  one,  a 
)bably  been 

as  so  fortu- 
)wy  owl,  an 
seldom  seen 
5  it  between 
otions,  when 
ance  to  the 
as  immense, 
equally  well 
,  and  always 


edly  to  repair  the  damage,  and  seemed  in  such  perfect 
good  humour,  that  the  knife  was  given  gratis  with  all 
my  heart.  While  idling  the  time  until  the  hour  of 
going  on  board,  we  gave  scrambles  of  beads  to  the 
women,  who,  many  of  them  with  children  on  tbeii- 
backs,  tumbled  about,  one  over  the  other,  with  the 
most  delightful  good  humour ;  and  it  was  observed,  that 
if  by  accident. any  one  dropped  a  bead,  the  others  were 
a9  anxious  to  pick  it'  up,  and  restore  it,  as  if  it  had 
been  for  themselves.  The  little  girls  assembled  to 
the  number  of  eleven,  to  sing  and  make  faces,  and 
squatted  down  before  us  for  that  purpose,  with  great 
glee.  They  were  pretty  children,  of  from  five  to  ten 
years  of  age,  and  the  leader  of  the  troop  was  a  girl  of 
superior  appearance,  with  full  black  eyes  and  a  fine 
complexion,  sister  to  Arnalooa.  This  matron,  who 
we  found  was  actually  married  to,  and  living  with, 
KoQgoIek,  a  fine  young  man,  of  about  eighteen,  was 
thirteen. years  of  age  only. 

The  natives  accompanied  us  to  the  boats,  and  cheer- 
od  UBtil  we  were  out  of  hearing. 

Landing  again  on  the  24th,  we  found  that  a  man. had 
arrived  from  a  distance  with  a  cargo  of  salmon,  whji^ 
luxury  was  of  course  eagerly  purchased,  as  the  greatest 
treat  we  had  met  with  since  leaving  England  :  the  fish 
were  small,  from  18  inches  to  2  feet  in  length.  The 
carcasses  of  two  or  three  deer  were  also  procured. 

Captain  Parry  landed  for  the  purpose  of  endeavour- 
ing to  induce  the  natives  to  bring  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  fish  for  the  supply  of  the  ships,  and  succeeded  in 
engaging  a  man,  named  Too-le-m&k,  to  set  out  for 
that  purpose  on  the  morrow  ;  he  was  to  be  absent  four 
(lays,  ^s  1  couid  be  well  spared  at  this  time,  and  liked 
these  kind  of  excursions,  1  asked  and  obtained  Captain 
Parry's  permission  to  accompany  the  Eskimaux,  and 
was  landed  the  same  night,  accompanied  by  George 
Dunn  (s.)  of  the  Hecla. 


# 


15.  * 


■>.i' 


w 


174 


JOVBNET  6yElB.  TBE  ICE* 


H^-"  •?": 


».? 


'fyi.^ 


ii'i-'» 


,W4K- 


A  LAND  JOURNEY.'    ^'^ 

We  soOti  found  Tookmak,  and  were  welcomed  to 
his  tent ;  where,  for  two  hours,  the  crowd  was  so  great 
that  it  was  impossible  to  move  an  elbow.  A  new  deer- 
skin was  spread  for  me,  and  Dunn  having  found  a  corner 
for  himself,  we  all  lay  down  to  sleep,  not,  however, 
until  our  host,  his  wife,  their  son,  and  a  dog,  all  naked, 
except  the  lady,  who,  with  the  decorum  natural  to  her 
sex,  retained  her  breeches,  had  turned  in  beside  me, 
under  cover  of  a  fine  warm  skiu.  It  rained  incessantly 
during  the  night. 

At  10  a.  m.  en  the  26th,  we  set  off,  and  walking  aboat 
two  miles,  found  the  sledge  on  a  beach,  near  the 
southern  ice.  Four  men  were  to  accompany  us  on  this 
vehicle,  and  the  good-natured  fellows  volunteered  to 
carry  our  luggage  to  it.  A  second  sledge  was  under  the 
charge  of  three  boys,  who  had  eight  dogs :  our  teams 
consisted  of  eleven.  Passing  along  the  strait  which 
divides  the  island  from  the  main  land  to  the  southward, 
Toolemak  pointed  out  two  assemblages  of  stone  huts,  to 
lAich,  in  the  summer,  or  more  properly,  when  the  ice 
breaks  up,  the  natives  come  in  order  to  fish,  and  some 
times  to  kill  a  whale  or  an  unicorn.  The  weather  was 
so  thick  that  we  could  not  at  times  see  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  before  us,  but  yet  went  rapidly  forward  to  the 
W.N.W.,  where,  after  about  six  hours  run,  we  came  to 
a  high  bold  land,  and  a  great  number  of  islands  of  red- 
dish granite,  bold  and  barren  in  the  extreme.  We  here 
found  the  ice  in  a  very  decayed  state,  and  in  many 
places  the  holes  and  fissures  were  difficult,  if  not  dan- 
gerous to  pass.  At  the  expiration  of  eight  hours,  our 
impediments  fn  this  respect  had  increased  to  such  a  de- 
gree as  to  atop  our  farther  progress.  Dunn,  the  old 
man,  and  myself,  therefore  walked  over  a  small  island, 
and  saw  beyond  it  a  sheet  of  water,  which  quite  pre- 
cluded any  advance  but  by  boats.  At  three  miles  west 
(H  this  were  two  blu£f  hills,  separated  by  an  apparent 
strait  of  half  a  mile  in  width,  and  beyond  that  lay  a  flat  j 
field  of  ice,  over  which  was  land  in  the  distance. 


KONQOKBK* 


175 


In  the  hope  that  the  morning  would  prove  more  fa- 
vourable for  our  obtaining  a  view  of  the  land,  the  only 
advantage  to  be  derived  from  our  visit,  since  the  state 
of  the  ice  prevented  our  reaching  the  fishing-place,  it 
was  decided  to  pass  the  night  on  one  of  the  rocky  isl- 
aDdd.  The  Eskimaux,  with  their  customary  improvi- 
dence, having  brought  no  provision  with  them,  1  distri- 
buted our  four  days'  allowance  of  meat  in  equal  propor- 
tions to  the  whole  party,  and  they  all  lay  down  to  sleep 
on  the  rocks,  having  merely  a  piece  of  skin  to  keep  the 
rain  from  their  faces ;  and  in  this  comfortless  state  they 
remained  very  quietly  for  eight  hours. 

The  morning  of  the  27th  was  rather  fine  for  a  short 
time,  or,  properly  speaking,  the  rain  was  less  violent ; 
^nd  we  saw  above  thirty  islands  in  one  group,  varying 
from  one  hundred  yards  to  a  mile  in  length :  these  I  named 
the  Coxe  group.  Two  deer  were  seen  on  the  northern 
land  (Khi&d-laghioo),  and  Toolemak  accompanied  Dunn 
in  chase  of  th«m  :  one  was  killed  by  the  latter,  as  he 
informed  me,  in  consequence  of  the  old  man's  lying 
behind  a  stone,  and  imitating  the  peculiar  bellow  of 
these  animals,  until  it  was  led  by  its  curiosity  to  come 
within  a  short  gun-shot.  We  crossed  with  the  sledges 
in  order  to  bring  the  deer  down,  and  found  that  the  old 
man  had  skinned  and  broken  it  up  after  his  own  man- 
ner, and  1  divided  it  into  shares.  The  entrails  and 
paunch  1  was  about  to  leave  on  the  plain,  but  was  re- 
minded by  the  anxious  looks  which  the  natives  cast  on 
these  objects,  that  Crantz  describes  the  latter  as  a 
Greenland  delicacy,  where  it  is  called  ^^  nero6-ka,  or 
the  eatable."  I  accordingly  assigned  these  choice 
morsels  to  young  Kong-o-lek  (scurvy  grass),  who  bore 
th  jm  off  in  triumph ;  not,  however,  until  u  few  hand- 
fuls  had  been  swallowed  by  his  companions.  Arriving 
')n  the  ice,  a  skin  was  taken  from  the  sledge  for  a  seat, 
ani  we  all  squatted  down  to  a  repast  which  was  quite 
new  to  me.  In  ten  minutes  the  Eskimaux  had  picked 
every  one  of  the  deer's  bones  so  clean,  that  even  the 
hungry  dogs  did  not  attempt  to  gnaw  them  a  second 
time.    Dtton  and  myself,  as  an  experiment,  made  our 


■a  1 


i  •  -i. 


r'l 


•v 

'  Wi 

% 

W'-'                                       J 

•  'i 

''  ■'  ,  '' 

'f  f.  ** ' ' ' 


176 


lfBBf»i>V£A* 


breakfast  on  a  choice  slice  cut  from  the  spine,  and 
found  it  fio  nod,  that  at  dinner-time  we  preferred  ttie 
same  food  N-  .'>ar  share- of  preserved  meat,  which  He 
had  saved  from  the  preceding  night.  The  windpipe 
is  exceedingly  good;  and  1  am  confident,  that  were  it 
not  from  prejudice,  raw  venison  might  be  considered 
as  a  dainty. 

Of  the  neroo-*  *  also  tasted  a  small  portion,  con- 
sidering that  nc  jari  who  wishes  to  concihate  or  in- 
quire into  the  manners  ofsavages  should  scruple  to  fare 
as  they  do  while  in  their  company.  I  found  this  sub- 
stance acid  and  ratl)er  pungent,  resembling,  as  near  as 
1  could  judge,  a  mixture  of  sorrel  and  radish  leaves. 
The  smell  reminded  me  of  fresh  brewer^s  grains;  and 
the  young  grasses  and  delicate  white  lichen  on  which 
the  deer  feed,  were  very  apparent.  Wishing  to  pro- 
cure some  salt-water  to  give  a  relish  to  our  venison, 
we  found  that  although  five  or  six  miles  from  the  iish- 
ing-place  (or  river,  as  Toolemak  called  it,)  the  water 
vtras  almost  fresh  in  the  broad  fissures  amongst  the  ice. 
As  we  sat,  1  observed  the  moskitoes  to  be  very  nume- 
rous, but  happily  incapable  of  tormenting,  as  they  la) 
in  a  half-torpid  state  on  the  ice. 

Coasting  onwards  about  two  miles,  our  sportsmen 
went  to  the  hills,  while  I  obtained  the  meridian  altitude, 
which  gave  the  latitude  69.  26.  48.  N.,  the  western  exr 
treme  of  Igloolik  bearing  E.S.E.  about  twelve  miles. 
Soon  after  noon  the  weather  became  as  foul  as  ever, 
and  I  was  unable  to  obtain  sights  for  the  longitude ;  we 
therefore  set  out  on  our  return,  and  without  seeing  any 
other  object  th^in  the  flat  and  decayed  ice,  passed  from 
land  to  land  with  our  former  celerity ;  dashing  through 
large  pools  of  water  much  oftener  than  was  altogether 
agreeable  to  men  whose  clothing  had  been  wet  for 
thirty  or  forty  hours,  and  who  had  not  been  warm  for  a 
longer  period.  W  e  had  proceeded  in  this  manner  for 
above  five  hours,  when  Kcngolik,  who  was  driving  at 
the  time,  and  paying  more  attention  to  the  nerooka 
which  he  was  voraciously  eating,  than  to  his  dogs,  up- 
set us  into  a  deep  hole,  which  broke  the  sl.edge,  and 


W'iS 


SLEDGES. 


177 


gave  08  a  complete  ducking.  The  Tehicle  being 
mended  by  our  shivering  party,  we  again  made  boldly 
forward ;  but  our  misfortunea  did  not  terminate  here, 
for  we  were  twice  again  upset ;  and,  finally,  the  dogs 
broke  the  main  trace,  and  ran  like  a  pack  of  wolves  for 
the  land.  A  large  block  of  ice  at  length  entangled  and 
stopped  them,  and  the  Eskimaux  soon  brought  them 
back,  when  ano  '  ^r  hour,  and  some  plentiful  floggings 
brought  us  to  the  place  from  wh^h 


to  the  delinqi 
we  had  first 
This  exci 
observing  th 


ivon  me  many  opportunities  of 
y  with  which  the  sledges  and  dogs 
are  managed,  and  which  I  had  never  seen  to  advantage 
at  Winter  Island.  Our  eleven  dogs  were  large  and 
even  majestic  looking  animals ;  and  an  old  one  of  pecu- 
liar sagacity  was  placed  at  their  head  by  having  a 
longer  trace,  so  as  to  lead  them  through  the  safest  and 
driest  places ;  these  animals  having  such  a  dread  of 
water  as  to  receive  severe  beatings  befbre  they  will 
swim  a  foot.  The  leader  was  instant  in  obeying  th^ 
voice  of  the  driver,  who  never  beat,  but  repeatedly 
called  to  him  by  name.  When  the  dogs  slackened 
their  pace,  the  sight  of  a  seal  or  bird  was  sufficient  to 
put  them  instantly  to  their  full  speed,  and  even  though 
none  of  these  might  be  seen  on  the  ice,  the  cry  of  ^^  a 
seal !  a  bear !  a  bird  !"  &c.  was  enough  to  give  play  to 
the  legs  and  voices  of  the  whole  pack.  It  was  a  beau- 
tiful sight  to  observe  the  two  sledges  racing  at  full 
speed  to  the  same  object,  the  dogs  and  men  in  full 
cry,  and  the  vehicles  splashing  through  the  holes  of 
water  with  the  velocity  and  spirit  of  rival  stage 
coaches.  There  is  something  of  the  spirit  of  pro- 
fessed whips  in  these  wild  races ;  for  young  men  de- 
light in  passing  each  other's  sledge,  and  jockeying  the 
hinder  one  by  crossing  the  path.  In  passing  on  di^ 
ferent  routes  the  right  hand  is  always  yielded,  and 
shoald  an  inexperienced  driver  endeavour  to  take  the 
left,  he  would  have  some  difficulty  in  persuading  hid 
team  to  do  so.  The  only  unpleasant  circumstance  at- 
tending these  rs(ces  is,  that  a  poor  dog  u  sometimes  en- 


fa  '51. 


^ 
^%^  ^^%* 


'> 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


{./ 


<_ 

"%  >. 


r/n 


'^ 


1.0 


I.I 


■tt  l&i   12.2 
Z  U&    12.0 


1 

i.25  1 1.4   ||.6 

■^ 

6"     

► 

1 


Tf-' 


Photographic 

Sdences 

Corporation 


33  WIST  MAM  STRHT 

WMSTM.N.Y.  I4SM 

(71*)t7a-4»03 


irs 


OOTABBA'S  TBITT. 


tangfled  and  thrown  dowo,  when  the  sledge,  with  perfaape 
a  heavy  load,  is  unavoidablj  drawn  over  his  body.  The 
driver  sits  on  the  fore  part  of  the  vehicle,  from  whence 
be  jumps  when  requisite  to  pull  it  clear  of  any  impedi- 
ments which  may  lie  in  the  way,  and  he  also  guides  it 
by  pressing  either  foot  upon  the  ice.  The  voice  and 
long  whip  answer  all  the  purposes  of  reins,  and  the 
dogs  can  be  made  to  turn  a  corner  as  dexterously  as 
horses,  though  not  in  such  an  orderly  manner,  since 
they  are  constantly  fighting,  and  I  do  not  recollect  to 
have  seen  one  receive  a  flogging  without  instantly 
wreaking  his  passion  on  the  ears  of  his  neighbours. 
The  cries  of  the  men  are  not  more  melodious  than 
those  of  the  animals,  and  their  wild  looks  and  gestures 
when  animated,  give  them  an  appearance  of  devils 
driving  wolves  before  them.  Our  dogs  had  eaten  no- 
thing for  forty-eight  hours,  and  could  not  have  gone 
over  less  than  seventy  miles  of  ground  :  yet  they  re- 
turned, to  all  appearance,  as  fresh  and  active  as  when 
they  first  set  out.       ^* 

We  were  joyfiilly  welcomed  to  Ooyarra's  abode, 
where  the  place  of  honour,  the  deer-skin  seat,  was 
cleared  for  my  reception.  His  two  wives  occupied 
one  end  of  a  double  tent,  while  at  the  opposite  extre* 
mity,  the  two  aged  parents,  with  the  young  brothei: 
and  sister  of  his  senior  wife,  were  established.  The 
old  mother,  Now-kit-yoo,  assisted  the  young  women 
in  pulling  ofi  our  wet  clothes  and  wringing  our  boots, 
which,  being  of  Eskimaux  manufacture,  she  afterwards 
soled  and  mended  without  any  request  on  our  parts, 
considering  us  as  part  of  the  family.  Our  knapsacks 
and  clothes  being  ail  wet,  we  gladly  turned  into  our 
blanket  bags,  which  had  been  better  guarded,  before 
a  dozen  or  two  visitors  of  each  sex.  Dunn  slept  in 
the  little  tent  to  watch  our  goods,  and  1  had  a  small 
portion  of  Ooyarra's  screenel  off  for  me  with  seals' 
skins.  '1  ired  as  1  was,  sleep  was  di^nied  me,  as  I  was 
obliged,  on  the  arrival  of  each  new  set  of  people,  to 
answer  their  questions,  as  to  how  I  could  possibly 
have  got  into  the  bag ;  the  manner  in  which  I  bat) 


VIBE. 


179 


^vrapped  it  round  me  for  warmth  leading  them  to  lup- 
pose  that  I  was  sewed  up  in  it. 

My  host  and  his  wives  having  retired  to  another 
tent,  and  my  visitors  at  leogth  taking  compassion  on 
me,  I  went  comfortably  to  sleep,  but  at  midnight  was 
awakened  by  a  feeling  of  great  warmth,  and  to  my 
surprise  found  myself  covered  by  a  large  deer  skin, 
under  which  lay  my  friend,  his  two  wives,  and  their 
favourite  puppy,  all  fast  asleep,  and  stark  naked. 
Supposing  this  was  all  according  to  rule,  I  left  them 
to  repose  in  peace,  and  again  resigned  myself  to  rest. 

A  large  assemblage  was  gathered  on  the  28th  to 
"hear  me  talk  of  Neoo-ning-et-ua,  or  Winter  Island, 
and  to  see  us  eat."  The  women  anxiously  volunteer- 
ed to  cook  for  t  ,  and  as  we  preferred  a  fire  in  the 
open  air  to  their  lamps,  the  goodnatured  creatures  sat 
an  hour  in  the  rain  to  stew  some  venison  which  we 
had  saved  from  our  shares  of  the  deer.  The  fires 
are  generally  made  of  bones  previously  well  rubbed 
with  blubber  and  the  female  who  attends  the  cooking 
chews  a  large  piece,  from  which  as  she  extracts  the 
oil,  she  spurts  it  on  the  flame. 

Daring  the  constant  visits  I  received  in  the  course 
of  the  day,  it  was  pleasing  to  observe  the  solicitude 
expressed  about  the  little  tribe  at  Winter  Island ;  and 
the  bare  mention  of  a  name  which  was  familiar  to  my 
auditors,  was  sufficient  to  procure  me  the  warmest 
thanks.  On  speaking  of  the  little  party  with  Ewerat, 
I  had  forgotten  the  name  of  one  young  man.  Every 
person  tried  in  vain  to  assist  my  memory,  until  an  old 
woman  came  in  and  asked  if  it  was  It-kftm-muk,  or 
whether  I  had  even  heard  of  such  a  person.  1  no 
sooner  told  her  he  was  the  man,  and  on  his  way 
to  Igloolik,  than  she  ran  about  the  tent  beating  her 
head,  and  crying,  *^  I  am  his  mother,  I  am  his  mother !" 
After  noon,  as  1  lay  half  asleep,  a  man  came  andtook 
me  by  the  hand,  at  the  same  time  telUng  Dunn  to  fol- 
low. He  led  me  to  a  tent  which,  from  the  general  si- 
lence within,  1  suppose  was  empty  ;  but  on  entering,  I 
I  found  eighteen  women  assembled,  and  seated  in  regular 


I.  ' 


n 


I  ■  'i 


180 


KOOHIK* 


I   f 


Pi '-'4' 


order,  with  the  seniors  in  front.  In  the  centre,  near 
the  tent  pole,  stood  two  men,  who,  when  I  was  seated 
on  a  lai^e  stone,  walked  slowly  round,  and  one  of  them 
began  dancing  to  the  fayonrite  tune  of  Am-n&ft-ya  &-yti 
in  the  usual  manner.  For  the  second  person  1  could 
not  at  first  account,  but  soon  found  that  he  was  the  dan- 
cer's assistant ;  and  when  the  principal  had  pretty  well 
exhausted  himself,  he  walked  gra?ely  up  to  him,  and 
taking  his  head  between  his  hands,  rubbed  noses  with 
him,  amidst  the  plaudits  of  all  present.  After  this,  as 
if  much  refreshed,  he  resumed  his  performance,  occa- 
sionally however  taking  a  koonlk  to  enliven  himself 
and  the  spectators.  The  rubbee^  if  I  may  use  the 
expression,  was  at  length  led  forward  by  the  rubber, 
who  then  rushed  into  the  air  to  cool  himself  In  this 
manner  five  or  six  couples  exhibited,  obtaining  more 
or  -less  applause  according  to  the  oddity  of  their  gri- 
maces. At  length  a  witty,  greasy  fellow,  in  conse- 
quence of  some  whispering  and  tittering  amongst  the 
ladies,  advanced  and  koonik'd  me,  so  that  I  was  oblig- 
ed to  stand  up  and  have  my  nose  rubbed,  to  the  great 
amusement  of  all  present.  My  turn  being  come,  I 
exhibited  a  figure  invented  expressly  for  the  occasion, 
and  chose  as  my  partner  a  very  pretty  girl,  which 
highly  delighted  the  women,  and  her  old  mother  in 
particular.  As  this  young  lady's  education  had  not 
made  her  a  great  proficient  in  dancing,  she  compro* 
mised  by  making  face;*  "nd  crying  the  Mftgh-roa,  in 
which  accomplishment  ';  was  very  expert,  and  was 
assisted  by  the  whole  o.  iue  other  females.  The  men 
not  being  yet  weary,  left  it  to  me  to  call  on  fresh 
dancers,  all  of  r»'hom  I  was  obliged  to  challenge  by  a 
koonik;  my  (»n'y  resource  therefore  was,  to  select 
such  as  had  the  cleanest  noses.  Having  been  as  pa* 
tient  as  they  could  wish  for  above  an  hour,  and  being 
quite  overpowered  by  the  heat  and  vapour  of  the 
crowded  tent,  I  made  a  hasty  retreat,  after  having  dis- 
tributed needles  to  all  the  females,  from  the  youngest 
of  whom  I  of  course  exacted  a  koonik  in  return.  A 
general  outcry  was  now  made  for  Dunn,  a  very  quiet 


n 


HONESTY* 


181 


centre,  near 
I  was  seated 
I  one  of  them 
i-nift-ya  ft-ya 
rson  I  could 
\  was  the  dan* 
3  pretty  well 
p  to  him,  and 
J  noses  with 
After  this,  as 
rmance,  occa- 
liven  himself 
may  use  the 
y  the  rubber, 
nself.     In  this 
btaining  more 
;y  of  their  gri- 
fow,  in  conse- 
)g  amongst  the 
at  I  was  oblig- 
d,  to  the  great 
ibeing  come,  1 
r  the  occasion, 
ty  girlf  which 
old  mother  in 
cation  had  not 
',  she  compro* 
e  Magh-roa,iD 
sxpert,  and  was 
lies.    The  men 
,  call  on  fresh 
challenge  by  a 
was,  to  select 
ng  been  as  pa- 
lour,  and  being 
vapour  of  the 
rter  having  dis- 
the  youngest 
in  return.   A 
n,  a  very  quiet  I 


M 


north  countryman,  but  he  having  seen  the  freedoms 
which  had  been  taken  with  my  nose,  had  very  pru- 
dently made  his  retreat  out  of  sight,  anticipating  that 
it  would  come  to  his  turn  if  he  remained.  In  the  eve- 
ning several  kayaks  went  to  kill  walruses,  and  while 
they  were  distant  1  observed  that  they  had  taken  a 
couple  of  these  animals.  My  glass  therefore  under- 
went a  general  examination,  and  all  the  tribe,  even  to 
the  little  children,  took  their  turns  to  peep  through  it. 
During  a  short  interval  of  fine  weather  we  hung  our 
clothes  out  to  dry,  and  the  contents  of  our  wet  knap- 
sacks, instruments,  beads,  knives,  &c.  were  left  expos- 
ed on  the  bare  ground  while  we  walked  inlai^d  to 
shoot  some  ducks.  We  cautioned  no  one  against 
thieving,  and  were  so  much  at  their  mercy  that  every 
thing  might  have  been  taken  without  a  posfibility  of 
detection,  yet  at  our  return  not  a  single  article  wiais 
eyen  moved  from  its  place,  and  I  do  not  believe  that 
it  had  entered  their  ideas  to  touch  the  most  trifling 
particle  of  our  property  during  our  absence. 

On  the  morning  of  the  29  th,  I  was  really  happy  to 
find  that  the  ships  were  not  yet  in  sight,  as  1  should 
thus  be  enabled  to  pass  another  day  amongst  the  hos- 
pitable natives,  and  still  see  them  in  their  quiet  state. 
1  soon  discovered  that  an  Cskimaux,  wheip|  not  agitatei 
by  the  pleasure  of  seeing  us  land  from  our  boats, 
and  distribute  presents,  was  quite  a  different  creature 
I  from  what  1  had  before  supposed ;  uttering  no  screams, 
showing  the  utmost  readiness  to  oblige,  and  being  to 
all  appearance  grateful  for  any  kindness  shown.  While 
making  my  rounds,  1  met  with  several  others  of  the 
natives  who  were  also  visiting,  and  who  each  invite4 
me  to  call  at  their  tent  in  its  turn.  Wherever  1  en- . 
tered,  the  master  rose  and  resigned  his  seat  next  the 
[wife  or  wives ;  himself  standing  before  me,  or  sitting 
|on  a  stone  near  the  door.  I  was  then  told  to  speak,  or 
^n  fact,  to  give  a  history  of  all  1  knew  of  the  distant 
^ribe,  which  from  constant  repetition  1  could  now  ma- 
lafe  pretty  well.  In  one  tent  I  found  a  man  mending 
paddle,  which  was  ingeniously  made  of  various  lit- 
16 


IX,! 


m 


mi 


198 


TisiTiiro. 


>t  ^ 


tie  scrap?  of  wood  and  bone,  lashed  and  pinned  to- 
gether. He  put  it  into  my  hands  to  repair,  expecting, 
as  I  was  «  kabloona,  that  I  should  succeed  much  bet- 
ter than  himself.  An  hour  afterwards,  the  poor  fel- 
low took  me  by  the  hand  and  led  me  to  his  tent,  where 
3  found  a  large  pot  of  walrus  flesh  evidently  cooked 
for  me.  His  wife  licked  a  piece  and  offered  it,  but  on 
receiving  some  hint  from  him  she  took  out  another, 
and  having  pared  off  the  outside,  gave  me  the  clean 
part ;  and  had  it  been  carrion,  1  would  not  have  hurt 
them  by  refusing  it.  During  the  showers  of  rain 
which  fell  frequently  throughout  the  day,  the  inmates 
of  whichever  tent  I  was  detained  in,  did  all  they  could 
to  ailjlise  me.  The  men  showed  some  curious'  knots 
on  their  fingers,  and  other  puzzles,  for  which  in  re* 
turn  I  exhibited  the  cat^s  cradle.  The  little  girls  were 
very  expert  in  a  singular  but  dirty  amusement,  which 
consisted  in  drawing  a  piece  of  raw  sinew  up  their 
nostrils,  and  producing  the  end  out  of  their  mouths. 

Visits  appeared  to  be  regularly  interchanged  be* 
tween  families,  and  whoever  happened  to  be  in  the 
tent,  partook  of  such  food  as  he  saw  at  hand ;  for  which 
purpose  every  man  carries  a  long  knife,  used  in  the 
bunting  excursions,  in  readiness  to  cut  his  share  of 
whatever  is  offered.  A  stranger  to  these  people 
would  supposjf^  from  seeing  so  many  naked  weapons, 
that  they  were  carried  for  such  purposes  as  some 
cf.vilized  Europeans  use  their  knives  for;  but  the 
Fiskimaux  seem  to  have  no  idea  of  injuring  any  part  o^ 
fhe  human  figure  except  their  own  fingers,  which  they 
constantly  cut  most  lamentably,  by  their  over  anxiety 
to  feed  themselves.  On  the  left  hapd  of  a  man,  not 
above  twenty  years  of  age,  I  counted  sixty  gashes! 
These  people  also  derive  a  peculiar  satisfaction  from 
licking  the  blades  of  knives  and  razors,  from  heel  to 
pointj  at  intervals,  during  meals,  or  a  pause  in  con- 
versation, and  the  tongues  of  many  of  them  bore  wit- 
ness that  this  operation  is  not  always  performed  with 
impunity.  Even  little  children  were  allowed, .  while 
sitting  in  their  mother's  hoods,  to  flourish  a  razoraboqt 
as  if  it  were  a  piece  of  wood. 


ttEOXA  ABBIYfiS. 


183 


I  remarked,  that  the  want  of  proper  and  natural 
curiosity  which  we  regretted  as  existing  amongst  our 
first  friends,  could  not  be  laid  to  the  charge  of  these 
people,  who  put  very  rational  questions  respecting  our 
food,  dress,  country,  wives,  &c.,  and  in  a  quiet  way 
awaited  my  answers.  The  women  were  particularly 
inquisitive  about  their  own  sex ;  and  when  I  went  so 
far  as  tojsay,  rather  too  boldly,  "that  they  never  wore 
the  breeches,"  a  general  cry  was  raised,  "  how  cold 
they  must  be ;"  and  it  excited  equal  astonishment 
when  1  explained  that  they  were  so  voM  of  taste  as 
not  to  be  tattoed. 

The  weather  clearing  in  the  afternoon,  one  ship  was 
seen  in  the  distance,  which  diffused  a  genei||il  joy 
amongfst  the  people,  who  ran  about  screaming  and 
dancing  with  delight.  While  lounging  along  the 
beach,  and  anticipating  the  arrival^  of  the  ship,  I  pro- 
posed a  game  at  leap-frog,  whicK  was  quite  new  to 
them ;  and  in  learning  which,  some  terrible  falls  were 
made.  The  women  (even  those  with  infants)  would 
not  be  outdone  by  the  men,  and  accordingly  formed  a 
party  of  jumpers  also.  Tired  with  a  long  exhibitiou, 
I  retired  to  the  tent,  but  wa8  allowed  a  very  short  re- 
pose, as  I  was  soon  told  that  all  the  people  from  the 
sotithem  tents  were  come  to  see  my  performance; 
and  on  coming  out  I  found  five  men  stationed  at  proper 
distances,  with  their  hands  down,  for  me  to  go  over 
them,  which  I  did  amidst  loud  cries  of  Koo-ycn-na ! 
(thank  you.) 

As  the  ship  drew  near  in  the  evening,  I  observed 
her  to  be  the  Hecla,  but  not  expecting  a  boat  at  so 
late  an  hour,  i  lay  down  to  sleep.  I  soon  found  this 
a  vain  attempt,  for  a  clamorous  party  came  drumming 
on  the  leather  sides  of  the  tent,  telling  me  a  little  ship 
wds  coming ;  and  I  soon  found  that  the  boat  was  nearly 
on  sboi'e.  Ooyarra's  senior  wife  now  anxiously  begged 
to  k&keen  a  little  man  on  my  arm,  which  she  had  no 
sooner  done  than  the  youngest  insisted  on  making  the 
satne  mark,  and  amidst  the  wildest  cries  and  agitation, 
they  sat  down  with  needle  and  thread  to  embetliah  Hat. 


184 


SETUBir  Oir  BOARD. 


When  the  boat  landed,  a  geoeral  rush  was  made  for 
the  privilege  of  carrying  our  things  down  to  it. 
Awarunni,  the  girl  who  bwned  the  little  dog  which 
slept  with  me,  ran  and  threw  him  into  the  boat,  when 
after  a  general  koonik  we  pushed  off,  fully  sensible  of 
the  unremitted  attentions  of  these  good  tempered  peo- 
ple. Toolemak  and  Ooyarra  came  on  board  in  m^ 
boat,  in  order  to  pass  the  night  an<l  receive  ^presents, 
and  we  left  the  beach  with  three  hearty  cheers. 

Having  given  such  a  long  account  ot  my  adventures, 
it  may  be  requisite  to  turn  to  objects  of  more  import- 
ance to  the  expedition.  I  had  found  the  ice  over 
which  wc  passed,  flat,  unbroken,  but  much  decayed 
into  holes.  The  general  thickness  was  still  above  a 
ibot,  and  amongst  the  islands  much  greater,  owing  to 
the  pa\:kiug  incidental  to  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  tides. 
Astronomical  observations,  or  good  ideas  respecting 
the  lands,  could  nof  be  obtained  in  consequence  of  the 
weather,  which,  with  the  kind  of  fatality  that  had  at- 
tended ail  my  little  excursionsj^was  more  than  usually 
severe  and  foggy. 


^''    •!! 


Ooyarra,  although  he  had  been  on  board  befoio, 
came  timidly;- up  the  side;  but  Toolemak,  who  had 
never  seen  a  ship  in  his  life,  was  quite  at  home  in  a 
moment,  shaking  hands,  slapping  the  batks,  and  asking 
the  names  of  all  who  were  near  him.  My  visitors  did 
iiot'go  to  sleep  like  the  other  savages,  but  never  closed 
their  eyes  the  whole  night,  rambling  about  the  decks 
to  examine  every  thing,  and  being  pleased  at  having 
permission  to  work  with  the  watch. 

On  the  morning  of  the  30th  I  sent  my  guests  on 
shore,  with  presents  to  all  my  particular  friends.  Some 
officers  who  went  to  the  tents  for  the  day,  returned  in  I 
the  evening  but  without  Dunn,  whom  I  had  sent  to 
shoot  ducks,  he  having,  as  they  supposed,  rambled  too 
far  inland  with  one  of  the  natives.  A  strong  breeze 
and  thick  weather  prevented  my  sending  for  him  on 


fOVBTT  OBA88* 


1^5 


as  made  for 
lovfD  to  it. 
I  dog  which 
boat,  when 
y  sensible  of 
mpered  peo* 
joard  in  my 
ve  presents, 
:heers. 
y  adventures, 
nore  import- 
he  ice   over 
kuch  decayed 
still  above  a 
ter,  owing  to 
I  of  the  tides. 
>as  respecting 
tquence  of  the 
ty  that  had  at- 
e  than  usually 


the  following  day,  and  on  the  Ist  of  August  we  beat 
ap  to  the  northward,  found  and  joined  the  For/. 
Having  communicated  with  Captain  Parry,  we  agam 
parted  to  run  for  the  island  where  I  landed,  and 
bi  ought  off  our  man,  who  had  been  treated  very  kind- 
ly, and  had  received  some  provisions  which  the  offi- 
cers had  left  for  him. 

During  my  little  excursion,  the  ships  had  visited  the 
coast  to  the  N.E.,  and  landed  on  three  or  four  islands, 
CD  one  of  which  were  remains  of  a  Iar,^e  Eskimaux 
settlement,  answering  exactly  to  Iligliak^s  account ;  in 
this  the  skulls  of  men  and  beasts,  broken  weapons, 
utensils,  &c.  were  lying  scattered  about.  Some  were 
of  opinion  that  this  place  had  been  hastily  abanloned, 
many  effective  articles  being  found  in  the  huts. 

At  night  we  rejoined  the  Fury,  and  beating  up  to 
the  northward,  made  fast  to  the  edge  of  the  ice  near 
a  small  isle,  .on  the  2nd.  In  the  aAemoon  we  killed 
a  male  walrus  after  a  very  animated  fight.  The  marine 
beef  had  now  risen  so  highly  in  general  estimation,  that 
the  whole  carcass  was  well  disposed  of. 

On  the  morning  of  the  3rd  I  accompanied  Captain 
Parry  to  Tern  Island,  which  is  very  flat,  about  a  mile 
in  length,  and  having  a  lagoon  in  the  centre.  The 
weather  was  fine,  and  our  walk  was  rendered  inte- 
resting by  finding  quantities  of  the  eggs  and  young 
of  the  tern  (sterna  hirundo,  Linn.),  a  few  eidei  ducka' 
nests,  and  above  all,  some  scurvy  grass  on  the  :  cich: 
of  this  we  brought  off  a  good  quantity  for  our  res^jec- 
tire  crews,  and  boats  were  afterwards  sent  for  more. 
it  would  have  amused  a  country-fed  Englishman  to 
have  seen  the  delight  with  which  we  made  away  with 
some  pounds  of  this  stringy  and  withering  vegetable, 
which  although  in  seed,  was  still  valuable,  as  being 
the  first  full  green  meal  we  bad  made  since  leaving 
home. 

A  large  body  of  loose  ice  obliged  us  to  make  sail  in 
the  evening;  and  again  banging  on  during  the  4tb» 
we  made  several  attempts  to  strike  one  of  the  numer- 
ous whales  which  were  blowing  near  us,  in  the  opea 
16* 


l.v;r 


¥A 


f 

•r*^ 


;i 


I 


mn 


t$6 


VrUAUL  KILIAD. 


i^  ^  m 


water.  On  the  5th,  howeirer,  the  Fury's  boat  got  fast^ 
and  the  other  boats  soon  joining,  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
assisting  at  the  death.  Our  prize  was  towed  to  the 
Fury,  where  she  was  flinched,  and  each  ship  had  an 
equal «share.  She  was  called  a  pretty  little  fish;  to 
give  an  idea,  therefore,  of  the  diminutive  creature,  1 
here  describe  her  dimensions : 


From  the  nose  to  centre  of  tail 
The  tips  again  project  from  the  centre  di- 
vision          

Extreme  length  of  the'  fish        ... 
BriBadlh  of  the  tail  from  tip  to  tip 
Broadest  part  of  the  head,  which  is  between 
the  root  of  the  jaw-bones      ... 
Nose  to  the  root  of  the  jaw-bone 
Longest  blade  of  bone  in  the  mouth  •  - 

Length  of  fin  from  tip  to  socket 
Extreme  breadth  of  the  fin        -        -        - 
Thickness  of  the  blubber 
Average  thickness  of  the  skin 

The  night  of  the  5tli,  and  the  whole  day  of  the  6th, 
were  occupied  in  boiling  a  sufficient  store  of  oil  for 
the  winter,  or  winters,  yet  to  be  passed  by  lamp- 
light. Whale  steaks  were  now  added  to  our  list  of 
Arctic  dishes.  Great  numbers  of  the  white  sort  (del- 
phinus  leucas)  were  seen  playing  along  the  edge  of 
the  ice,  and  they  even  approached  the  ships,  but  their 
excessive  timidity  would  not  allow  of'  f>ur  striking  one. 

On  the  7th  we  stood  for  Igloolik,  the  Fury  having 
the  crang,  or  carcass  of  the  whale  in  tow ;  and  iu  the 
evening  we  pulled  it  in  shore,  and  delivered  the  rich 
gift  to,  eleven  kayaks,  who  met  us.  The  natives  in- 
stantly made  a  furious  attack  on  the  flesh,  and  we  left 
them  eating,  in  order  to  row  to  the  usual  tenting  place, 
which  we  found  deserted,  and  could  see  no  traces  ofj 
ttke  people.    Returning  on  board  we  met  Toolemak, 


Ft. 

In. 

38 

9 

6 

0 

43 

9 

16 

10 

7 

8 

13 

7 

9 

H 

6 

6i 

3 

3 

1 

0 

0 

1 

lABOB  SBCK. 


nr 


who  had  been  one  of  the  whale  eating  party,  and  who 
informed  ut  that  the  tents  were  removed  a  short  dis- 
tance up  the  south  side  of  the  island.  On  the  follow- 
iog  day  this  old  man  with  another  came  on  board,  and 
made  some  charts ;  in  all  of  which  we  clearly  perceiv- 
ed that  a  p»jsage  must  eiist  somewhere  to  the  N.W. 
The  ice,  however,  though  now  very  thin,  still  held  on 
with  the  greatest  obstinacy,  and  rendered  us  as  inactive 
as  we  were  impatient.  On  the  1 1th  we  shifted  to  the 
fiist  Ice,  near  nn  island  to  the  N.W.  of  Igloolik* :  we 
here  met  with  several  men  and  women,  who,  with 
twenty>six  dogs,  some  of  which  carried  little  panniers, 
had  walked  from  Igloolik  for  the  purpose  of  catching 
brent  geese,  which  were  very  numerous,  and  beginning 
to  moult.  They  used  nooses  of  whalebone  ror  this 
purpose,  and  had  already  taken  a  few.  When  walking 
across  the  island,  I  surprised  a  flock  of  several  hundred 
geese,  but  unfortunately  they  were  still  able  to  fly. 
From  the  southern  shore  I  was  enabled  to  observe  that 
the  nhole  of  the  ice  I  had  passed  over  with  Toolemak 
was  still  fast.  While  here,  1  was  agreeably  surprised 
by  seeing  two  fine  bucks  run  before  me,  and  by  using 
the  Eskimaux  stratagem  of  imitating  their  bellow,  was 
so  fortunate  as  to  entice  and  kill  one,  which  proved  the 
best-conditioned  we  had  yet  seen,  having  three  inches 
of  fat  on  his  haunches.  While  bringing  down  our  game,. 
we  saw  the  second  animal  in  the  centre  of  a  lake,  sur- 
rounded by  three  of  our  people,  who  had  wounded  him, 
when  Dunn,  with  his  usual  success,  despatched  him. 
These  animals  were  the  first  we  had  ever  seen.  The 
horns  of  each  had  a  thick  covering  of  soft  fur,  and  were 
thirty  inches  high,  from  the  crown  to  the  top  antlers. 
Toolemak  and  some  others  came  on  board,  and  remain- 
I  ed  till  the  evening,  when  they  were  sent  on  shore.  It 
soon  after  came  on  to  blow  hard  from  the  southward, 
with  snow,  hail,  and  rain,  at  intervals ;  yet  in  this  bit- 
ter weather  the  poor  Eskimaux  were  full  fifteen  miles 
from  home,  and  had  nothing  to  shelter  them.    The 


r't 


m 


m 


*  Meilinakto. 

.,. .:.-^-,  ■-,.!- 

1 

\ 

« 

188 


OAFTAIir  FAULT  UtATBI  Vf. 


ga1«  coBtlnied  all  night,  and  the  ice  at  thii  place  being 
too  thick  to  allow  of  the  ship  forming  a  docli,  we  lay 
beating  Tory  hard  against  it  for  seyeral  houn,  under 
the  inflnence  of  a  short  swell.  We  now  unhung  the 
rudder  for  its  security,  and  at  the  expiration  of  twenty 
hours  became  quiet,  in  conseouence  of  a  large  body  of 
ice  enclosing  us  from  the  southward.  Heavy  rain  fell 
without  intermission  during  the  12th,  and  great  part  of 
the  13th,  on  the  afternoon  of  which  day  we  perceived 
the  loose  ice  setting  to  the  S.E.  in  defiance  of  a  fresli 
breeze  from  that  quarter.  This  circumstance  tended 
still  further  to  confirm  our  opinion,  that  in  addition  to 
the  regular  tides,  there  was  a  constant  current  setting 
from  the  westward,  through  some  opening  in  that  di- 
rection. One  of  the  officers  who  visited  the  island 
brought  off  a  white  owl,  exactly  corresponding  in  size 
and  colour  with  the  one  I  had  killed  at  Iglooiik. 

On  the  14th,  Captain  Pariy  determined  on  setting 
out  over  the  western  ice  to  the  land  in  that  quarter,  in 
order  to  have  ocular  proof  that  a  sea  actually  existed 
immediately  beyond  it,  as  had  been  constantly  asserted 
by  the  Eskimaux ;  for  although  there  was  no  doubt  of 
the  truth  of  their  reports,  yet,  as  it  was  of  the  utmost 
importance,  he  very  properly  determined  on  solving 
this  interiesting  question  himself.  The  season  had  now 
advanced  to  a  most  alarming  period,  strong  ice  having 
formed  almost  every  night  of  calm ;  the  mouth  of  Au- 
gust was  half  expired,  and  in  this  high  latitude  we 
could  not  expect  to  navigate  for  many  days  in  Septem- 
ber. In  case  the  summer  now  past  should  have  been 
an  unfavourable  ene,  and  the  autumn  not  improved,  we 
could  hardly  hope  to  proceed  much  farther ;  and  in 
waiting  for  favourable  openings,  we  might  most  pro- 
bably be  overtaken  by  the  winter. 

Captain  Parry  was  accompanied  by  Mr.  Richards  and 
four  men ;  a  fatigue  party  also  attended  for  the  first 
stage,  or  day's  journey.  It  was  most  fortunate  that  a 
former  overlapping  of  the  floes  had  left  an  additional 
thickness  of  ice,  near  where  we  lay,  reaching  to  the 
islands  about  seven  or  eight  nules  to  the  "jfvestward. 


OAPTAIir  VAMMY  BETUBKS. 


189 


AloDg  thii  they  proceeded,  as  a  paisage  over  the  other 
ice  would  have  been  almoit  impracticable. 

The  weather  was  thick  and  uniettluJ  on  the  15tb, 
moch  snow  falling ;  this  continued  on  the  16th,  when 
we  found  larre  masses  of  ice  driving  down  on  us  from 
the  N.W.  The  ships  also  moved  with  it,  and  the  thick 
weather  prevented  our  finding  any  opening.  A  short 
interval  of  light  allowed  us  to  observe  that  we  were 
still  off  Ner-ll-n&k-to,  and  in  a  small  bight,  formed  by 
two  shoal  points  running  off  from  that  island,  and  hav- 
ing their  position  clearly  defined,  by  the  quantity  of 
grounded  ice  which  lay  on  them.  In  this  unpleasant, 
ancL  occasionally  dangerous  situation,  we  lay  until  the 
20th,  driving  at  each  tide,  from  thirty,  into  five  and 
se?eB  fathoms  water,  the  shoals  alone  preventing  our 
being  carried  to  sea,  as  we  hung  on  by  a  large  floe 
which  lay  between  them,  and  shitted  its  place  without 
the  power  of  moving  outwards,  the  offing  being  filled 
with  the  immense  floes  which  came  rapidly  down  from 
the  westward.  We  received,  at  times,  some  very  heavy 
squeezes,  and  were  once  very  nearly  laid  on  a  rock, 
but  fortunately  held  our  ground  while  the  same  wind 
continued.  On  the  20th,  the  piece  by  which  we  hung 
acquired  a  rotatory  motion,  and  carried  us  fairly  for  the 
I  beach ;  but  at  the  same  moment  another  smaller  floe 
filled  the  vacant  space,  and  we  still  had  a  friend  be- 
I  tweeD  us  and  the  land.  The  long  desired  southerly 
I  wind  soon  after  came  slowly  round,  and  moved  us  into 
deeper  water  ;  relieving,  for  the  .first  time,  the  anxie- 
Ity  in  which  we  had  been  for  five  days.  Good  fortune 
seldom  comes  single,  for  at  6  f.  m.  we  saw  Captain  Par- 
ry's party  to  the  S.W.  they  having  come  down  within 
the  island,  on  the  still  unbroken  ice.  Had  they  com- 
Imenced  their  return  by  the  route  they  pursued  in  going, 
they  must  have  gone  to  sea,  and  we  could  not  have  had 
Itbe  power  of  sending  to  assist  them.  They  arrived  ob 
[board  at  10  p.  m.  From  Captain  Parry  I  learnt  that  he 
{had  discovered  a  large  opening  to  the  W.N.W.,  beyond 
Iwhich,  as  far  as  he  could  observe,  there  lay  a  clear 
Isea,  which  he  considered  as  being  the  place  laid  down 
lia  all  the  Esldmaux  charts. 


^s 


i5 


it^t 


t90 


ENTEB  TBE  8T1UIT  OV 


'  Our  traTellers  had  no  sooner  arrived  on  board,  than 
thick  snow  and  gloomy  weather  came  on,  which,  had 
it  occurred  a  few  hoars  sooner,  would  have  kept  us 
separate  for  some  days.  Tliis  fall  continued  until  the 
24th ;  but,  as  we  knew  the  position  of  the  land,  we 
made  a  few  miles  of  westing,  and  hung  to  the  edge  of 
the-  fast  ice  until  the  evening  of  the  25th,  when,  after 
some  difficulty  in  clearing  the  Fury,  which  jwas  beset, 
we  made  sail,  and  reached  open  water  under  the  nor- 
thern land. 


Pf  ll' 


!     , 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Entev  Strait  of  Fury  and  Hecla — Land  journeys — State  of  the 
spason — Bears    killed — Liddon    Island — Amherst    Island— Ex- 
amine state  of  the  ice — A  cave — Extraordinary  currents— Seel 
winter-quarters— Igloolik—Ice-huts— An    anchor     lost — Ships  j 
frozen  in.  ,  I 

The  morning  of  thts  26th  was  fine,  and  favoured  by  a  I 
light  breeze;  we  ran  with  gireat  anxiety  for  the  mouth 
of  the  new  strait.     Soon  after  noon  we  succeeded  in 
passing  the  narrow  entrance,  which  extended  about 
four  miles  east  and  west,  and  was  formed  by  two  pro- 
jecting head-lands.    That  on  the  left  was  high,  but  ofl 
gradual  ascent,  perfectly  smooth,  and  composed  entirely  [ 
of  beautifully  variegated  sandstone.     The  width  of  the 
opening  was  from  three  to  one  mile,  and  through  this 
a  most  powerful  tide  or  current  was  rushing  from  the] 
westward.     On  the  left-hand  shore  we  found  the  sound- 
ings so  extremely  regular,  that  we  did  not  scruple  toj 
run  close  to  it,  in  order  to  avoid,  as  much  as  possible,! 
the  impetuosity  of  the  current.    On  each  side,  beyoDdl 
the  narrows,  the  land  was  bold  and  mountainous,  that! 
to  the  left  being  about  three,  while  the  right  shore  wail 
fifteen  miles  distant.    This  latter  range  of  mountaiml 
Was  capped  with  snow,  which  was  distinctly  marked  of 
from  the  lower  psrt  of  the  land.    At  the  distance 


TUB  TVBT  AND  HECLA. 


191 


about  ten  and  twenty  miles  from  the  strait  were  two 
islands.  The  most  distant  obstructed  our  view  to  the 
westward,  and  a  more  serious  stop  was  put  to  our  ad- 
vance, by  finding,  that  at  the  nearest  we  came  again  to 
flat  ice  extending  in  every  direction  beyond  us.  Into 
this,  with  a  kind  of  desperation,  we  ran  our  ships  with 
all  sail  ,set,  and  forced  a  birth  for  them.  In  running 
from  the  strait  to  this  place,  we  were  warned  of  two 
dangerous  shoals,  on  which  a  quantity  of  heavy  ice  was 
I  piled,  thus  acting  as  a  beacon  ;  for  although  our  leads 
were  constantly  going,  it  would  have  been  scarcely 
possible  for  bothi,  or  even  one  ship,  to  have  escaped 
running  on  the  centre  shoal. 

On  the  27th,  pardes  landed  on  the  southern  shore, 
and  on  the  island,  aoreast  the  ships.     We  each  observ- 
ed the  same   unpromising  state  of  the  ice;  no  water 
was  seen  to  the  westward,  and  the  northern  land  was 
Igradualiy  lost  in  the  distance,  trending  in  the  direction 
lof  the  strait.     The  night  was  stormy,  and  thick  snow 
Ifell.    The  wind  settling  from  the  N.E.  we  found,  on 
Ithe  morning  of  the  S8th,  that  the  ice,  amidst  which  we 
llay,  was  broken  up  for  several  miles,  and  it  was  with 
Idifficulty  that  we  extricated  ourselves  froin  it.     Guided 
Dy  the  hand-leads  (for  heavy  snow  still  fell),  we  beat 
jto  the  eastward,  coasting  the  northern  shore  from  the 
parrows,  and  looking  in  vain  for  shelter.     It  was  not 
DDtil  the  evening  of  a  very  anxious  day,  that  we  found 
bchorage  under  the  lee  of  the  island,  off  which  we 
pad  at  first  been  stopped.    Captain  Parry  here  came 
pn  board,  in  order  that  we  might  communicate  together 
respecting  future  operations.     The  season  had  now  as- 
|aiD«d  so  wintry  an  appearance,  that  there  seemed  but 
jlttle  probability  of  our  getting  much  farther  west. 
Te  knew  of  no  harbour  to  protect  the  ships,  and  unless 
favourable  change  speedily  took  place,  we  had  the 
Hoomy  prospect  of  wintering  in,  or  near,  our  frozen 
Mt.    It  therefore  became  requisite  to  ascertain  if 
Dj  opening  had  occurred  in  the  ice  to  the  S.E.,  or  if 
bere  was  a  possibility  of  getting  west  in  any  direction, 
nd  at  the  same  time  following  our  instructions  of  keep- 
ligthe  coast  of  America  on  board. 


If 


KH 


^pi 


192     ILANO  JOITRNET  IV  THE   MOVNTAIirS. 


ir  \\ 


On  the  morning  of  the  30th,  Mr.  Palmer  was  deS' 
patched  in  a  hoat  to  Igloolik,  provisioned  for  nin^  days, 
to  examine  the  state  of  the  ice  near  that  island,  and,  if 
possible,  to  visit  the  place  which  Toolemak  had  con- 
ducted  me  to.  Mr.  Reid,  with  a  party,  supplied  for 
three  days,  was  to  walk  along  the  southern  land  to  the 
west,  in  order  to  ascertain  with  certainty  the  continu- 
ance of  the  opening  in  which  we  were  ;  while  I  had 
charge  of  a  third  expedition,  to  cross  the  mountains  in 
a  due  south  direction,  and,  if  possible,  to  reach  Khec- 
mig,  my  people  having  four  days  provisions.  We  found 
the  mountains  deeply  covered  by  the  recently  fallen 
snow,  yet  we  made  about  three  miles  direct,  by  crossing 
over  the  tops  of  those  which  had  no  precipices.  We 
now  found  the  land  increase  connderably  in  height, 
and  it  was  so  intersected  by  lakes,  as  very  frequently 
to  oblige  us  to  retrace  our  steps,  and  painfully  to  toil 
up  the  same  steep  cliflfs  which  we  had  before  descend- 
ed with  difficulty.  The  depth  of  the  recently  fallen 
snow  was  from  one  to  three  fe't,  and  of  course  where 
chasms  occurred,  was  much  deeper.  In  such  cases  m 
found  it  requisite  to  feel  our  way  with  pikes ;  for  had 
any  person  fallen  into  these  holes,  it  would  have  been 
impossible  to  extricate  him.  The  acclivity  of  some  of  | 
the  mountains  was  so  great  that  we  were  obliged  to 
separate,  in  order  to  ascend  or  descend :  for  had  one  of  j 
the  party  lost  his  footing  amongst  the  soft  snow,  or  had 
a  portion  of  rock  been  detached,  the  consequences 
would  have  proved  fatal  to  those  beneath.  During 
this  first  day  we  were  eight  hours  thus  situated,  yet  in 
the  evening  found  we  had  not  made  five  miles  direct 
from  the  place  whence  we  started.  From  the  top  ef  a 
mountain  we  stood  on,  the  water  in  which  the  shi[ 
were  lying,  and  the  grounded  ice  o£f  Sandstone  Island,  I 
were  discernible  with  the  naked  eye.  We  pitched  our 
tent  under  a  small  projecting  crag,  where  we  passed  a 
very  cold  night.  On  the  morning  of  the  31st  we  set 
oat  at  daylight,  and  with  hopes  of  better  success,  in 
consequence  of  our  being  on  the  highest  part  of  the 
range;  but  having  scrambled  to  the  &tance  of  a  mile, 


THJS   SEASOir. 


t9S 


we  found  it  -^cessary  to  return  again  in  order  to  avoid 
a  long  chain  of  lakes.  After  three  hours^  exertion,  we 
passed,  as  we  supposed,  clear  of, them,  but  suddenly 
came  on  another  cluster  of  equal  extent ;  and  to  add  to 
our  mortification,  found  that  we  had  returned  to  within 
500  yards  of  the  place  where  w^  had  slept  on  the  pre- 
ceding night.  In  descending  a  cliff,  one  of  the  men 
lost  his  hold,  but  was  fortunately  arrested  by  a  rock 
which  lay  beneath  the  snow,  and  he  received  no  fur- 
ther injury  than  a  severe  contusion  on  the  nose.  We 
had  been  half  an  hour  descending  this  precipice,  first 
throwing  down  our  knapsacks,  but  we  had  Ti6  sooner 
reached  its  foot,  than  the  discovery  of  fresh  lakes  oblig- 
ed us  again  to  ascend.  Finding  it  thus  absolutely 
impossible  to  proceed,  and  having  in  eleven  hours^ 
travelling  made  only  five  miles,  I  determined  on  re- 
turning ;  and,  as  it  was  evident  that  we  had  been  tra- 
versing the  highest  part  of  the  land,  made  for  the  coast, 
where  the  walking  would  be  easier. 

Seven  hours'  rapid  walking  brought  us  in  sight  of 
the  ships,  and  we  pitched  the  tent  near  a  small  bluff, 
on  which  some  gulls  were  settled  with  their  young. 

Two  hours  more  brought  us  on  the  1st  September 
abreast  the  ships,  and  a  boat  being  sent  out,  we  arrived 
on  board  at  noon.  The  mountains  over  which  we  pass- 
ed were  of  granite  and  gneiss,  and  many  of  them  could 
not  have  been  less  than  1000  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea.  The  longest  chain  of  lakes  ran  east  and  west 
about  six  miles,  and  from  their  being  very  narrow,  and 
bounded  by  precipices,  must  have  been  ^)f  considera- 
ble depth :  there  were  eeveral  little  ijars  with  faUs, 
and  over  some  of  these  we  occasionally  waded.  In 
every  lake  was  abundance  of  solid  ice,  detached 
from  the  banks,  and  floating  in  the  water ;  its  thick- 
ness above  the  water  was  from  six  inches  to  a  foot, 
and  there  seemed  but  little  probability  of  its  thaw- 
iHg  farther,  as  young  ice  began  to  form  in  such 
places  as  were  sheltered  from  the  winds.  Every 
thing  I  saw  in  this  shoH  excursion  tended  to  confirm 
me  in  the  opinion  that  the  past  and  present  seasons 
17 


m 


■WF 

i 


'  k 


t-  f? 


'I  • : 


»•>  J 


194 


BEAH8  KIIJLEI). 


had  b^en  more  thdn  usually  severe.  ,  Above  all,  the 
backward  state  of  vegetation  was  the  most  remarkable ; 
the  delicate  yellow  poppy  was  only  now  in  full  flower, 
and  many  other  plants  had  but  just  begun  budding.  The 
purple  blossoms  of  saxifrage  were  scarcely  burst,  and 
its  leaves  hardly  discernible ;  yet  the  country  being  at 
this  time  deeply  covered  with  snow  in  many  places, 
and  the  ground  hard  frozen,  the  commencement  of  the 
winter's  formation  of  ice  threatened  to  prevent  all  the 
plants  from  arriving  at  maturity.  We  saw  no  living 
creatures,  except  some  silvery  gulls,  a  few  snow  boDt- 
ings,  and  a  raven,  which  latter  I  observed  as  it  flew,  to 
take  repeated  somersets,  while  soaring  downwards. 
Near  the  sea  we  found  one  solitary  Eskimaux  circle, 
half  buried  and  overgrown  with  moss,  so  that  maDy 
years  must  have  elapsed  since  it  had  been  used. 
There  were  no  other  signs  of  tliis  truly  desolate  coast 
havii^  been  ever  visited.* 

During  our  absence,  a  she  bear  and  her  two  cubs 
drove  down  to  the  Hecla  on  a  small  piece  of  ice,  and 
all  three  were  killed.  The  mother  was  considered  as 
small,  and  the  young  ones  were  about  the  size  of  New- 
foundland dog^ :  they  were  all  very  fat,  and  their  fur 
was  of  a  silvery  white.  Captain  Parry  informed  me, 
that  he  had  sent  Mr.  Crozier  in  our  small  boat,  with 
two  men,  to  make  observations  on  the  current  in  the 

*  I  was  about  to  attempt  describing  the  excessive  dreariness  of 
these  mountains  which  I  had  visited  before  the  snow  fell,  but  recol* 
lecting  a  few  lines  which  seemed  almost  made  for  the  spot,  I  wk 
tempted  to  insert  them. 

<<  But  here—above,  around,  below, 

Ou  mouBtaic,  or  in  glen, 
Nor  tree,  uor  shrub,  nor  plant,  nor  flower, 
!Nor  aught  of  vegetative  power. 

The  weary  eye  may  ken. 
For  all  are  rocks  6t  random  thrown, 
Deep  lakes,  bare  crags,  and  banks  of  stone, 

An  if  were  here  denied 
The  summer  sun,  the  spring's  sweet  dew, 
That  clothe  with  many  &  varied  hue 

The  bleakest  mountain's  side.** 

fj99iofihtUli!. 


isi'^ 


I^IDDON   ISLAND. 


195 


strait.  They  were  provisioned  for  four  days,  but  oa 
timt  of  my  return,]a9  it  bleiv  hard  from  the  N.W.,  anothr 
er  boat  was  sent  with  a  further  supply,  and  her  officer 
was  then  to  examine  the  northern  shore  of  the  nar- 
rows. On  the  2nd  I  went  to  Liddon  Island,  which  af- 
forded us  some  extremely  interesting  specimens ; 
amongst  others,  we  found  on  the  beach  abundance  of 
clay  ironstone,  veined  in  a  most  beautiful  manner ;  as- 
bestos in  small  quantities,  some  delicate  and  thickly 
clustered  crystals  of  carbonate  of  lime,  and  an  amazing 
variety  of  fancifully  marked  and  different  coloured 
sandstone,  of  which  the  island  was  formed.  Eleven 
deer  were  seen.  Mr.  Reid^s  party  came  off  at  noon, 
having  in  a  great  degree  found  the  same  impediments 
as  I  had  met  with.  By  keeping  chiefly  near  the  foot 
of  the  mountains,  he  made  about  twenty  miles  along 
the  coast,  which,  however,  gave  him  no  better  view 
than  could  be  obtained  from  the  mast-head.  Captain 
Parry  now  determined  on  going  back  in  a  boat  to  the 
eastward  of  the  narrows,  and  from  thence,  by  crossing 
tl^e  land,  endeavouring  to  reach  the  place  called 
Kheemtg.  In  the  afternoon  he  set  out,  taking  ten 
days  provisions  for  his  crew,  and  two  for  Mr.  Crozier, 
who  continued  weather-bound. 

On  the  4th  I  landed  on  an  island'*'  about  six  miles  to 
the  westward  of  the  ships.  Its  beach,  on  which  ice 
lay  grounded,  was  flat,  and  entirely  covered  with  most 
minute  scales  of  black  slate.  The  whole  land  was  of  a 
different  formation  from  any  we  had  seen ;  the  northern 
prt  being  con^posed  of  black  slate,  which  lay  in  lami- 
nae easily  to  be  detached  ;  and  most  of  the  pieces  were 
curiously  fluted,  or  had  rounded  ridges  of  about  a  fin- 
ger's breadth  running  over  them.  From  the  appear- 
ance of  the  ground,  where  some  chasms  occurred,  it 
was  the  opinion  of  one  of  the  seamen  who  accompanied 
me,  and  who  was  born  amongst  coal  mines,  that  coal 
must  lie  a  short  distance  below  the  surface.  Farther, 
towards  the  centre  of  the  island,  in  a  line  intersecting 

•  Amherst  Island. 


'■>'■> 


i    I 


J !  ft,  ^'ii 


<  'ii 


'.i 


196 


SI7FEKBNT  PARTIES   SENT 


it  about  east  and  west,  a  new  soil  presented  itself,  "be* 
lag  clay  and  limestone  in  small  amorphous  masses, 
which  had  the  appearance  of  having  recently  been 
dug  and  broken  up  from  a  thick  loamy  bed.  The  nor- 
thern or  slaty  half  was  entirely  void  of  vegetation ; 
that  to  the  southward  had,  in  the  valleys  or  swampy 
places,  a  very,  scanty  covering  of  moss  and  shrivelled 
grass ;  on  this  we  saw  eight  deer  feeding,  and  1  killed 
a  well-conditioned  buck,  whose  four  quarters  weigh- 
ed 131  lbs.  This  animal,  as  well  as  others  of  the 
herd,  was  shedding  the  hairy  covering  of  his  horns, 
which  were  quite  bloody,  and  had  many  stripes  of  loose 
«)kin  hanging  like  streamers  from  them.  Returning  to 
the  boat,  we  found  two  Eskimanx  circles,  partly  sunk 
beneath  the  ground,  and  apparently  long  forsaken. 
Messrs.  Crozier  and  Ross  haJ  returned  during  my  ab- 
sence, and  their  respective  repo^^s  w«r6,  that  the  first 
officer  had  been  unable  to  make  any  observations  on 
the  tide  or  current  on  which  he  could  place  any  de- 
pendence, owing  to  the  prevalence  of  a  strong  N.W. 
breeze,  which  might  in  some  degree  have  increased 
the  rapid  set  continually  coming  down  frem  the  west- 
ward :  this  also  prevented  his  returning  on  board.  He 
bad  been  picked  up  by  Mr.  Ross,  wholound  him  in  the 
strength  of  the  current  driving  fast  to  the  eastward, 
and  was  towed  on  board  by  the  latter,  after  he'had  as- 
certained that  the  nearest  northern  shore  of  the  Nar- 
rows was  an  island. 

On  the  5th  I  sent  an  officer  to  walk  across  Amherst 
Island,  in  order  to  see  if,  by  passing  over  it,  a  partj/ 
could  make  a  shorter  cut  to  the  westward,  and  avoid 
the  impediments  which  Mr*.  Reid  had  met  with.  His 
report  being  favourable,  I  was  induced  to  send  Mr. 
Hoppner,  with  a  boat's  crew,  provisioned  for  seven 
days,  to  mak$  such  observations  on  the  trending  of  the 
coast  as  the  season  would  permit.  A  bear  was  seen  on 
the  ice  near  the  island,  endeavouring  by  stratagem  to 
come  unawares  upon  a  seal ;  but  on  our  people  ap- 
proaching he  made  off. 

At  midnight  on   the  7th  Mr.  Palmer  returned  oo 


III ''I' 


TO  EXAMINE  THE  STATE  OV  TUB  ICE.      197 

board,  his  party  having  been  on  their  oars  since  four 
A.M.     It  had  been  bis  intention  to  have  stopped  at  the 
Narrows,  but  while  loading  his  gun  it  went  off;  his 
fore  finger  and  thumb  were  very  severely  lacerated, 
and  several  grains  of  powder  which  went  into  his  eyes 
quite  blinded  him  for  the  time.    One  of  the  people, 
however,  afforded  him  great  relief  by  licking  the  pow- 
der from  under  the  lids.     The  boat's  crew,  like  noble 
fellows,  forgetting  their <  fatigue,  determined  on  con- 
veying Mr.  Palmer  on  board,  struggling  for  eight  hours 
against  wind  and  tide  ere  they  could  effect  it.     The 
report  of  this  excursion  was  not  more  favourable  than 
the  preceding  ones ;  loose  ice,  rapid  tides,  and  a  strong 
breeze,  being  the  chief  impediments.    One  night  wa^ 
passed  on  a  piece  of  floating  ice,  and  three  others  on 
Ner-ii-nak-to,  ail  in  consequence  of  being  beset.     Dur- 
ing ihefie  detentions,  it  w<is  clearly  ascertained  that  the 
ice  to  the  westward  and  southward  of  Igloolik  still  re- 
mained unbroken.   On  Mr.  Pajmer's  arrival  at  the  latter 
island,  he  found  it  impossible  to  make  any  way  up  the 
strait  which  separates  it  from  the  main,  in  conftquence 
of  the  wind  and  sea.     He  accordingly  landed,  and  walk- 
ing along  the  shore  for  about  two  miles,  found  the  firm 
ice  stretching  quite  across.    In  two  other  excursions 
inland  he  saw  nothing  of  the  Eskimaux,  who  probably 
had  removed  to  Arn-koa-khiat,  a  little  settlement  on 
the  western  end  of  the  island.    He,  however,  observed 
many  places  which  appeared  to  have  been  recently 
quitted,  and  along  the  beach  were  some  hundred  piles 
ol  stones,  each  covering  the  carcass  of  a  walrus,  or  a 
store  of  blubber.     He  also  found  a  grave  at  the  distance 
of  a  mile  from  the  sea,  and  in  it  was  the  body  of  a  child 
of  about  eight  or  ten  years  of  age.    It  lay  with  the 
face  upwards,  and  the  head  to  the  N.E.  was  decently 
dressed  in  good  deer-sl^in  clothes,  and  the  hood  of  the 
jacket  was  up  as  if  the  child  had  been  alive.     A  large 
seal-skin,  deprived  of  the  hair,  was  carefully  spread 
over  the  whule. figure,  and  tucked  in  on  all  sides.  The 
body  was  so  slightly  covered  with  fight  shingle,  that  a 
fox  o<^ahy  smaller  animal  might  easily  have  got  to  ii 
•     17* 


'I  f 


198 


PARTIES  BETURir. 


Near  the  grave  were  four  piles  of  stones,  under  the  first 
of  which  was  laid  a  fragment  of  red  cloth  and  a  piece  of 
black  silk  handkerchief;  the  second  covered  a  pair  of 
the  poor  child's  boots  and  mittens,  and  each  of  the 
other  two  contained  a  whalebone  pot. 

Before  leaving  the  island,  Mr.  Palmer  saw  four  large 
birds  resembling  our  English  bustards,  and  some  swans 
also.  After  a  repetition  of  the  same  struggles  as  be 
had  before  made,  he  arrived  on  bo|ird,  having  found 
that  it  was  impracticable,  either  by  boats  or  water 
conveyance,  to  examine  any  part  of  the  land  S.W.  of 
Ig-loo-lik. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  7th  Mr.  Hoppner  returned, 
having  been  about  thirty  miles  we^t  of  the  ships,  but 
was  not  able  to  pass  round  the  end  of  the  southern 
land,  owing  to  my  having  limited  him  to  time,  and  not 
wishing  to  be  detained  on  his  account,  in  case  Captain 
Parry  should  have  obtained  information  which  required 
us  to  move.  The  coast  still  gave  the  same  indications 
of  a  continuance  of  the  strait.  A  wolf,  two  foxes,  and 
a  bear,  were  seen.  In  the  evening  Captain  Parry  re- 
turned, and  I  learnt  that  he  had  seen  the  place,  or  a 
portion  of  it,  visited  by  me  rvith  Toolemak.  From 
the  insignificance  of  this  Uttle  bight,  it  was  not  to  be 
regretted  that  he  had  found  the  way  by  which  the 
ships  must  have  reached  it  entirely  filled  with  unbro- 
ken ice.  It  was  now  but  too  clearly  ascertained  that 
we  were  in  the  most  western  open  water,  and  all  hopes 
of  an  alteration  in  our  favour  were  at  once  checked  by 
the  state  of  the  season.  For  some  days  the  weather 
had  been  very  fine  and  clear,  and  young  ice  formed  so 
atrcnffly  in  the  holes  amidst  the  floe  that  we  skaitedoD 
it  daily.  On  the  forenoon  of  the  8th  we  ran  to  the  ex- 
treme end  of  the  water,  and  made  fast  abreast  of  Am- 
herst Island,  from  whence  we  could  command  a  better 
^iew  of  the  strait. 

Landing  on  the  9th  I  walked  round  the  island.  In  the 
western  ice  several  cracks  were  opened,  but  the  only 
lane  of  any  magnitude  lay  about  three  miles  ahead  of 
the  sbipS)  and  extended  to  the  northern  land.    1  fovad 


I,    ^ 


:}l: 


EXTRAOBDINABT  CVBRENTI. 


IM 


the  island  to  be  about  eight  or  nine  miles  from  east  to 
west,  and  five  or  six  in  breadth.  On  coasting  back  to 
the  boat,  I  found  a  most  fairy-like  grotto  in  a  small 
cliff  of  black  and  rugged  slate,  through  which  the  water 
as  it  oozed  had  formed  most  brilliant  icy  stalactites  of 
some  feet  in  length ;  these  hung  in  the  front  of  the 
cave  in  a  variety  of  flnciful  forms  over  a  small  basin, 
which  was  frozen  as  smooth  as  the  most  polished  mir- 
ror. The  sun  shone  full,  but  powerless,  on  the  silvery 
icicles,  which  formed  a  beautiful  contrast  with  the 
shaded  part  of  the  ebon  grotto  behind  them.  I  cannot 
properly  describe  the  effect  of  this  dazzling  scene,  but 
it  ceftainly  was  the  most  delicately  unnatural  cavern  I 
had  ever  beheld.  Returning  to  the  ship  we  found  the 
youDg  ice  so  thickly  formed  during  the  day,  that  it  was 
with  difficulty  we  forced  our  way  through  it. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  10th,  Messrs.  Ueid  and  Bush- 
nan,  with  a  party  of  men  provisioned  for  seven  days, 
left  the  ships  to  walk  along  the  foot  of  the  northern 
land,  and  to  obtain  one  more  view  of  the  strait,  and  if 
possible  to  reach  or  ascertain  its  termination  in  the 
main  ocean.    The* weather  was  cloar  and  fine,  which 
was  much  in  their  favour.     For  some  days  repeated  at- 
tempts had  been  made  by  boats,  by  patent  logs,  and 
vaiioas  contrivances  from  the  ships,  to  ascertain  the 
actual  state  of  the  tides  or  currents  which  set  from 
under  the  ice ;  but  the  results  merely  tended  to  prove 
them  extraordinary,  and  out  of  the  nsual^ nature  of 
these  phenomena.    That  there  was  a  prevailing  set 
from  the  westward  we  had  long  known,  even  before 
entering  the  strait ;  and  we  saw  by  the  driving  of  the 
loose  ice  against  an  easterly  wind,  that  it  ran  with 
great  force ;  yet,  at  the  same  time,  the  log  seldom  or 
ever  gave  any  signs  of  current  on  the  surface.    That 
there  was  a  wonderful  under-current  was  without  a 
doubt,  as  two  deep  sea  leads  lashed  together  were  al- 
ways, while  near  Amherst  Island,   swept  from   the 
ground  and  carried  off,  sometimes  east,  sometimes 
soath-east,  as  fast  as  we  chose  to  give  them  line, 
which  of  coarse  assisted  to  lif%  them  the  more  readily, 


'^  i. 


I   % 


.'    '>tU 


&00 


THE   STRAIT  EXAMINED. 


nccording  to  the  quantity  exposed  to  the  sweep  of  the 
current.  As  an  cxtraordinury  instance  in  point,  tbo 
Hecia  brolce  adrift  on  the  I3tii,  in  consequence  of 
n  piece  of  ice  parting,  and  was  carried  against  a  fresh 
easteriy  breeze,  about  a  mile  from  the  fast  floe.  All 
sail  being  set  before  the  wind,  we  were  nearly  two 
hours  in  recovering  this  one  mile,  though  to  all  appear- 
ance, and  by  the  log,  going  between  three  and  four 
knots  through  the  water.  If  the  wind  slackened  a  lit> 
tie,  and  we  did  not  go  above  two  Icnots,  we  went  fast 
astern  by  marks  in  the  land;  yet,  without  any  difliculty, 
a  boat,  as  drawing  less  water,  could  have  run  over  the 
same  space  in  a  few  minutes.  For  two  days  a  strong 
N.W.  wind  blew,  and  brought  with  it  a  great  deal  of 
snow. 

On  the  15tb,  in  the  evening,  Mr.  Rcid  and  his  pnrij 
returned,  all  quite  well.    They  bad  travelled  al>out 
sixty  miles  to  the  westward,  had  ascertained-  the  ter- 
mination of  the  strait,  and  had  seen  a  vast  expanse  of 
unbroken  sea  ice  in  continuation  of  that  to  which  the 
ships  were   fast.     Traces  of  Eskimaux   were   found 
along  the  coast,  and  they  discovered  likewise  a  very 
pleasant  little  inlet.     No  doubt  now  remained  of  our 
being  in  the  only  navigable  entrance  f  of  course  I  mean 
if  unimpeded  by  ice)  to  the  Polar  Sea,  immediately 
round  the  N.E.  point  of  America,  whicb^  from  its  ap- 
pearance, breadth,  set  of  the  current,  and  other  cir- 
cumstances, was  a  di8cover3<t;  of  tiie  highest  interest, 
though  the  nature  and  thickness  of  the  ice  which  filled 
it  gave  a  sad  check  to  our  sanguine  hopes  of  a  passage. 
Under  all  these  circumstances,   and  considering  the 
time  of  the  year,  Captain  Parry  addressed  letters  to 
the  two  senior  lieutenants  and  myself,  to  ask  our  ofti- 
nion  as  to  what  should  be  attempted  f6r  the  advantage 
of  the  service  during  the  few  days  tlie  sea  might  still 
continue  open. 

On  the  19th,  a  general  memorandum  from  Captain 
Parry  was  read  to  the  officers  and  crews ;  stating  that, 
having  taken  the  advice  of  the  i>enior  lieutenants  and 
myself,  he  had  decided  on  leaving  the  ^strait,  and, 


sweep  of  the 
In  point,  the 
nsequence  of 
gainiit  a  fresh 
fast  floe.    All 
re  nearly  two 
I  to  all  appear- 
^ree  and  four 
lackened  a  lit- 
^  ^e  went  faat 
[  any  difficulty, 
e  run  over  the 
days  a  strong 
a  great  deal  of 

d  and  bis  party 
travelled  al»out 
•tained-  the  ter- 
vast  expanse  of 
at  to  which  the 
IX   were   found 
likewise  a  very 
emained  of  our 
f  course  1  mean 
a,  immediately 
cl>,  from  Us  ap- 
,  and  other  cir- 
igbest  interest, 
ice  which  filled 
)e8  of  a  passage, 
considering  the 
issed  letters  to 
to  ask  our  o|)i- 
r  the  advantage 
sea  might  still 

m  from  Captain 

"a ;  stating  that, 

lieutenants  and 

ihe  strait,  and, 


WB  lEATB  THE   8TBAIT. 


«01 


as  far  as  the  ice  would  permit,  examiningf  the  norths 
eastern  land ;  finally,  seeking  a  birth  near  IglooUk,  la 
which  to  secure  the  ships  for  the  winter :  thus,  by  be- 
ing farther  to  the  eastward,  having  an  opportunity  of 
being  sooner  disengaged,  so  that  we  might  examine 
the  northern  lands  before  the  strait  would  again  be 
open  to  receive  us. 

At  noon  we  got  under  sail ;  btit  the  Fury  was  som^ 
hours  before  she  could  be  cleared,  the  young  ice  hav 
log  formed  so  thickly  round  her  as  to  bear  being  walk- 
ed upon.  We  ultimately  towed  her  out  with  a  haw- 
ser, and  then  ran  down  the  strait,  anchoring  for  the 
night  off  the  S.  E.  end  of  Liddon  Island. 

At  daylight,  on  the  20th,  we  again  made  sail,  and 
worked  continually  for  thirteen  hours  before  we  could 
get  through  the  narrows,  although  the  wind  was  fresh 
in  our  favour.  Contrary  to  all  we  had  before  observed, 
the  tide  now  ran  to  the  westward,  and  against  a  wester- 
ly wind.  This  filled  the  strait  with  young  ice,  novr 
Tery  thick  and  tough,  which  frequently  stopped  ns  im 
the  centre  of  a  field,  and  drove  us  with  all  sail  set 
wherever  the  currents  or  eddies  were  the  strongest. 
I  Boats  were  hung  from  the  bowsprit  and  bows,  in  order 
to  break  the  floes;  but  they  did  little  good,  as  the  ice 
was  in  many  places  sufficiently  strong  to  bear  them  and 
their  crews;  it  being,  as  I  have  before  observed,  the 
peculiar  property  of  salt-water  ice  to  bend,  but  not  to 
break ;  and  holes  made  in  it  when  young  are  burst , 
{through  as  easily  as  a  pencil  may  be  pushed  through 
{common  blotting-paper.  At  one  time,  while  fixed  in  a 
Imoving  floe,  one  of  the  men  employed  on  it  was  al- 
[most  swept  from  us,  and  Providence  alone  saved  him 
jfroro  the  danger :  he  merely  caught  the  bare  end  of  a 
[rope  which  we  threw  him,  and  in  the  instant  was  drag- 
gled through  some  soft  ice  at  the  very  moment  the  ship 
egan  to  acquire  way.  On  getting  through,  we  found 
Ithe  sea  open,  and  remained  under  sail  during  •  very 
flark  night.  We  had  now  been  sixty-five  days  strug^ 
^ling  to  get  forward ;  but,  though  we  had  suffered  the 
ixieties  and  difficulties  of  a  long  voyage,  we  had  only 


■i 

'    't 

[  ,':  ■ 


IM^IIf ', 

hUv  '  ' 

^■yl 

fi 

^^HmS 

;>t 

IHl 

■  f. 

'^ff 

'1 

ipi|f 

/' 

ao« 


iiroHom  At  IOLOOI.1K. 


■>  ■& 


io  that  time  reached  about  forty  miles  to  the  vrestwurd 
of  Igloolik.  For  twenty-five  days  we  had  awaited  the 
breaking  up  of  the  ice  in  the  strait,  and  now  left  it  al- 
most  as  we  had  found  it :  considerin,t  oui-sc^ves  fortu- 
nate in  getting  clear.  We  were  aware  that  another 
twenty-four  hours  would  have  sufficed  to  Hx  us  there; 
and  the  shortest  period  of  detention  in  this  most  deso- 
late place  must  have  been  above  eleven  months,  which 
would  have  been  to  us  as  so  many  years.  Not  a  living 
creature  would  have  blessed  our  sight,  even  in  the 
spring;  for  the  continual  ice  forbade  the  appro? J, 
even,  of  ducks,  and  the  dreary  lands  would  only  arrest 
the  deer  for  a  few  dayv  in  their  passage  to  and  from 
better  pasturage.  We  thanked  God  thet  it  tvas  possi- 
ble to  pass  a  comparatively  comfortable  wintev  in  the 
arctic  regions,  and  that  we  could  even  rejoice  at  the 
idea  of  being  fixed  in  a  part  where  we  could  walk  od 
the  shore,  and  procure  game  in  the  summer. 

After  beating  up  to  the  eastward  for  some  hours,  m 
anchored,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  Slst,  under  the  lee 
of  Tern  Island.  Weighing  on  the  morning  of  the  22d, 
with  the  wind  from  the  south<east,  we  worked  along 
the  north-eastern  shore;  but  a  gale  rising,  we  ngain 
returned,  md  sought  protection  under  the  island.  It  bten 
rery  bard  throughout  the  night,  «vhich  was  very  dark. 
The  weather  moderated  on  the  morning  of  the  23d, 
but  was  still  so  unsettled,  that  we  could  not  venture 
out,  in  consequence  of  the  continual  fall  of  snow.  Bothl 
ahips,  however,  shifted  into  deeper  water;  and  the! 
Fury,  on  weighing,  found  that  her  best  bower  anchorl 
had  lost  a  flue.  We  supplied  her  with  a  spare  ancbor.f 
At  near  midnight  the  wind  blcyv  fresh  from  the  nbrthj 
west,  directly  on  to  the  little  Island,  which  obliged  inl 
to  weigh,  though  it  was  ^o  dark,  that  we  could  not  scej 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  before  m*. 

On  the  24th,  having  f  t'^7 '  th^  ^{^a  so  fua  of  ice  that] 
it  wo»ld  have  been  highly  imprudent  to  remain  loagerl 
in  the  offing,  we  anchored  just  within  the  entrance  i 
the  little  strait  which  divides  Iglooilk  from  the  mm 
intending  to  remain  somewhere  near  that  position  fori 


THB   BONB  HVVt. 


sod 


the  wefilwiird 
id  awaited  the 
now  left  it  a\- 
,i-ac*ve8  fortu- 
.  that  another 

0  iix  08  there ; 
tW«  most  dew- 
months,  which 
,.  Not  a  living 
kt,  even  in  the 

1  the  appro?.' I 
ould  only  a  rest 
ige  to  and  iVom 
,pt  it  wvvspossi- 
e  w■\?^tcv  in  the 
,n  rejoice  atthe 
re  could  walk  on 
mmer. 

.  some  hours,  m 
Bt,  under  the  lee 
.rningofthe22d, 
re  worked  along 
rising,  we  ugaiu 
he  island.  Itblejf 
h  was  very  dark. 
ning  of  the  23(i, 
jould  not  venture 
ai  of  snow.  Both 

water;  and  the 
ist  bower  anchotl 
ih  a  spare  anchor. 
I  from  the  north- 
which  obliged  IB 

we  could  not  scej 

|sofuuoficelhal| 
to  remain  longer 

[n  the  entrance  f 

i  from  the  mall 

that  position  l<" 


the  winter.    We  now  perceived  that  the  natWcf  had 
come  to  refide  at  the  bone  vilU^o. 

On  the  26th,  I  landed  to   vinit  my  old  acqualntancef, 
iM  found  their  hut^  in  a  most  (i.lhy  state,  owing  to  the 
Biii'lness  of  the  weathci,  and  to  their  internal  warmth: 
the  water  was  dropping  from  the  roofs,  the  ice   had 
melted  on  the  floors,  and  the  juices  of  thawing  arid 
half-putrid  walrus  flesh,  with  other  watery  mconvenien- 
ces,  had  made  large  sloppy  puddles  in  the  low  «ntraii* 
C(!^,  through  which  we  were  obliged  to  crawl  on  our 
hai  is  and  knees.     None  of  these  bone  houses  were 
/  «ii  over,  but  their  tops  were  covered  by  trauspa- 
real  skins,  so  that  no  air  could  penetrate,  yet  at  the 
lame  time  sufficient  light  was  admitted.    In  the  lai|fest 
ot'  the  buildings  were  sixteen  grcwn  persons  and  seve- 
ral children,  arranged  in  families,  each  of  whom  occo^ 
pied  a  very  elevated  bench  ;  so  that,  on  entering  the 
hut,  all  their  feet  were  on  a  level  with  our  heads,  the 
door  being  at  the   bottom.     It  required  a  tolerable 
share  of  activity  to  climb  up  to  the  family  we  might  have 
wished  to  visit,  the  slope  from  their  feet  to  the  base  of 
the  edifice  being  rendered  extremely  slippery  by  the 
before-mentioned  fluids.    At  a  more  advanced  state  of 
the  season,  the  cold  of  course  acts  as  a  sweetener  and 
drier  to  the  intierior  of  these  dwellings.    Round  the 
sides  of  each  family  seat  a  kind  of  curtain  of  8<  ^W 
iklDS  was  pinned  against  the  sooty  walls,  a  mark  of  de- 
cency I  had  scarcely  expected  to  see.    I  cannot,  boiv- 
eTer,  avoid  mentioning  a  curious  fact,  that  a  people  so 
|dirty  in  all  their  habits  as  the  Eskimaux  should  hate 
9  greatest  abhorrence  of  soot.    In  various  instances, 
the  summer,  1  had  seen  them,  while  in  their  tents, 
refully  pick  out  the  most  minute  pieces  of  shingle 
hich  bad  come  in  contact  with  their  cooking-pots,  and 
row  thwi  away.    During  the  few  days  also  that  I 
as  sojourning  with  them,  if  the  slightest  mark  of  soot 
as  left  either  on  my  fingers  or  their  own,  a  bird'a 
iog  aad  a  little  saliva  were  instantly  applied  to  rub 
it  the  Main.     Aa  the  bone  huts  could  contain  but  a 
all  portk^  of  the  tribe,  there  were  several  others 


I 


M 


204 


ICE  HUTS. 


I ' 


I    t5 


1.   il 


constructed  of  fresh  water  ice,  which  even  exceeded 
in-  beauty  the  snow  houses  I  have  long  since  described. 
Large  slabs  of  transparent  ice  were  arranged  in  some- 
what an  octagonal  form,  as  the  walls  of  the  building  and 
their  joints  were  carefully  plastered  with  snow.    The 
roofs  of  some  were  as  yet  of  skins,  but  others  had  the 
regular  dome  tops  of  snow.    Toolemak's  dwelling  was 
H  perfect  octagon,  an^  so  transparent,  that  even  at  some 
paces  distance  it  was  possible  to  distinguish  those  who 
stood  within  it  one  from  the  other ;  yet,  at  the  same 
time,  it  was  so  completely  air  tight,  as  to  be  perfectly 
warm.     The  door  or  hole  of  entrance  was  low  down, 
and  protected  by  a  passage  of  the  same  pure  material 
as  the  hut.    His  canoe  was  placed  near  at  hand,  bot- 
tom up,  on  two  walls,  each  formed  of  a  single  slab  of  j 
ice  about  five  feet  high ;  and  his  whole  e&tablishmeDt  j 
was  neatly  and  certainly  very  commodiously  arraaged.  i 
All  the  Eskimaux  had  numerous  families  of  young  pup- 
pies, and  each  litter  was  carefully  sheltered,  by  having 
a  small  ice-house  built  for  its  reception,  and  roofed  in, 
80  that  the  mothers  leapt  to  them  over  a  low  wall, 
which  her  young  ones  were  unable  to  pass.    These 
nurseries  were  as  transparent  as  the  other  buildiDgs; 
and  the  fat  little  puppy  dogs  lay  with  their  parents  rs| 
if  enshrined  in  a  gliiss  case. 

The  people  were  all  very  ill  clothed ;  in  fact,  manyl 
of  them  had  but  one  jacket,  and  that  so  greasy  withiol 
and  without,  as  to  afford  little  or  no  warmth.  Tbejl 
all  complained  that  they  had  killed  but  few  deer  tol 
supply  them  with  skins,  having  sold  many  of  their  boml 
to  the  Kabloona ;  and  we  also  fancied  them  to  say  thatl 
the  summer  had  been  an  unfavourable  one.  Botlil 
sexes,  however,  appeared  to  have  been  well  fed  durj 
ing  our  absence,  for  they  were  in  excellent  case,  aodj 
bad  a  more  than  usually  tanned  appearance.  For  th 
I  could  not  account,  as  the  summer  in  this  climate! 
would  scarcely  have  effected  such  a  change.  Witi 
their  usual  improvidence,  they  still  offered  their  fei 
Remaining  bows  for  sale,  as  being  now  of  no  use ;  jel 
we  kpew  that  in  the  spring  their  desire  to  repossea 


MAIfKER  or  FISHING. 


205 


rea  exceeded 
ice  described, 
iged  in  some- 
c  building  and 
b  snow.    The 
others  had  the 
J  dwelling  was 
it  even  at  some 
lish  those  who 
it,  at  the  same 
t»  be  perfectly 
(vaft  low  down, 
5  pure  material 
r  at  hand,  hot- 

a  single  slab  of 
e  establishment  I 
iously  arranged. 
BS  of  young  pup- 
tered,  by  having 
n,  and  roofed  in, 
over  alow  wall, 
ito  pass.  These 
'  other  buildings; 

their  parents  as 


them  would  be  carried  to  the  same  length  as  their  wish 
in  the  winter  to  dispose  of  them.  Some  salmon  trout, 
six  or  eight  inches  in  length,  were  purchased,  and,  as 
we  learnt,  were  caught  in  the  lakes  on  the  island. 

On  the  26th  Captain  Parry  left  us  for  a  few  days,  in- 
tending a  boat  excursion  to  the  western  land.     Soon 
afterwards  a  large  body  of  ice  began  to  enter  the  strait 
from  the  seaward,  which  induced  me  to  carry  the  ships 
about  three  miles  to  the  westward,  under  the  shel- 
ter of  a  little  point,  on  which  stands  the  summer  settle- 
ment of  06-lod  khiat.    We  found  one  family  still  there ; 
and  on  the  27th  the  master  of  it  accompanied  me  round 
a  bay,  which  was  near  us,  in  order  to  show  nre  the 
place  where  the  trout  were  caught,  which  was  a  lake 
of  a  mile  or'more  in  circumference,  partly  frozen  over. 
We  soon  joined  two  lads  who  were  fishing  on  the  ice  : 
each  attended  at  a  hole,  where,  with  a  small  piece  of 
string  attached  to  a  short  bone-handle,  he  continually 
bobbed  a  small  ivory  model  of  a  fish.     This,  from  it& 
glaring  whiteness,  is  employed  to  attract  others,  and 
while  examining  the  strange  figure,  they  are  struck  b/ 
the  fisher  with  the  kakeeway  (or  little  nippers),  and 
thus  impaled.    This  process  appears  to  require  the 
greatest  patience,  for  in  half  an  hour  I  only  saw  one 
fish  taken,  and  it  was  the  first  since  daylight;  yet  the 
boys  will  sit  quietly  on  their  heels  for  a  whole  day  at 
this  occupation.    An  ivory  fish  which  I  purchased  was 
neatly  formed,  about  three  inches  long,  and  having  the 
eyes  made  of  small  lumps  of  iron  pyrites.     The  boys 
informed  me,  that  beyond  the  lake  was  a  herd  of  deer 
grazing,  but  being  unarmed  I  did  not  seek  for  them. 
I  bought  at  the  hut  a  few  trout,  and  found  them  mo«l 
I  delicate  eating ;  their  fiesh  was  of  a  fine  pink  colour. 

Snow  and  thick  weather  had  prevailed  for  some 
I  time,  and  were  on  this  day  accompanied  by  a  fresh. 
northerly  wind.  Captkin  Parry  returned  aJt  noon, 
having  examined  a  considerable  portion  of  the  land  te^ 
the  westward,  which  was  clear  of  ice.  An  officer  who 
was  on  shore  this  day  had,  with  several  E^Mmaaz,  two 
18  .  . 


«06 


Air  AITOHOB  SOST« 


W. 


;i } 


I  ,  <". 


4og8  to  tow  him  through  the  deep  tnow  trhich  had 
recently  fallen. 

We  anxiootly  awaited  the  forming  of  the  winter  floe, 
hut  as  we  lay  in  a  tide-way,  no  young  ice  of  any  im- 
portance was  perceived  until  the  3d ;  it  then  formed 
fast,  and  rendered  our  anchorage  very  unsafe,  as  a  con- 
tinued N.W.  wind  drove  it  past  us,  and  caused  a  heavy 
strain  on  our  cables.  For  three  or  four  days,  there- 
fore, we  warped  ahead,  as  the  ice  offered  occasional 
openings,  and  endeavoured  to  get  under  the  land,  so  as 
to  leave  a  smaller  space  for  the  loose  ice  to  form  in 
ahead  of  us,  and  thus  escape  considerable  pressure. 
in  this  state  we  remained  with  the  ice  thickening 
daily,  and  in  suspense  as  to  whether  we  should  have 
the  good  fortune  to  escape  being  carried  to  sea. 

On  the  8th,  the  fiskimaux  first  began  to  come  off  to 
us  on  the  youilg  ice,  even  though  it  was  still  frequent- 
ly in  motion,  feeling  their  way  with  spears,  and  expo^ 
ing  themselves  to  such  imminent  danger,  as  to  cause  a 
r.huddenng  in  all  who  looked  at  them.  It  is  theii 
custom,  when  walking  in  this  manner,  t«  extend  their 
legs  as  far  as  possible,  scarcely  lifting  their  feet,  but 
sliding  them  along  the  ice,  which,  being  of  salt  water, 
bends  like  leather.  The  pressure  was  so  much  in- 
creased on  the  9th,  that  we  drove  wherever  the  ice 
chose  to  carry  us,  and  on  weighing,  we  found  that  ire 
had  lost  the  shank  and  crown  of  the  best  bower.  This 
was  the  fifth  anchor  which  was  broken  in  the  two  ships, 
and  we  were  of  course,  much  distressed  by  it,  two 
.  only  now  remaining  to  each  of  us  for  our  future  ope- 
rations. 

in  a  day  or  two  after  this,  some  women  and  young  | 
boys  came  off  to  us,  their  curiosity  to  see  the  ships 
conquering  their  fears  of  the  still  moving  ice.    I  how- 
ever sent  them  back  immediately,  and  perceived  thatl 
tiiey  were  only  just  in  time  to  reach  the  shore  before 
Ij^e  ice  they  had  walked  over  separated,  and  ultimatei;| 
drove  out  to  sea :  such  is  the  temerity  or  stupidity, ' 
know  not  which  to  call  it,  of  these  people. 

An  easterly  breeze  on  the  121h  brought  the  ice  Id  I 


ICE  BECOMES   STATIOXART. 


207 


9  irluclihad 

e  winter  floe, 
e  of  any  im- 
then  formed 
safe,  as  a  con- 
aused  a  heavy 
r  days,  there- 
red  occasional 
the  land,  so  as 
tee  to  form  in 
•able  pressure, 
ice   thickening 
^e  should  have 
d  to  sea. 
I  to  come  off  to 
IS  still  frequent- 
ears,  and  expo^ 
»r,  as  to  cause  a 
BBi.     it  is  their 
to  extend  their 
their  feet,  but 
,g  of  salt  water, 
,f9B  so  much  in- 
[hcreverthc  ice 
e  found  that  vt 
ist  bower.   This 
in  the  two  ships, 
,ssed  by  it,  two 
our  future  ope- 

-omen  and  young 
Ito  see  the  ships 
>ing  ice.    1  howL 
Ld  perceived  that  I 
[the  shore  before 
Id,  and  ultimatelyl 
|ty  or  stupiditji  l| 

lople.  . I 

Iroughttheiceit 


sach  quantities,  that  it  packed,  or  overlapped,  very 
thickly  all  the  day,  and  until  the  evening  of  the  13th, 
when  it  became,  as  we  hoped,  quite  stationary ;  but  at 
night  it  again  opened  a-head  of  the  Hecla,  and  we 
drove  to  a  short  distance  with  it,  when,  aot  knowing^ 
its  thickness,  we  let  go  one  anchor  which  was  hanging 
under  foot,  and  veered  to  seventy-two  fathoms  on  the 
chain  cable,  hoping  it  would  force  her  through,  as  it 
had  done  before ;  but  on  the  14th,  at  daylight,  we 
were  surprised  to  find  that  between  the  crack  and  the 
ship,  the  ice  had  overlapped  to  the  extraordinary 
thickness  of  from  7  feet  9  inches  to  3  feet  9  inches, 
each  layer,  as  we  afterwards  found,  not  being  above 
two  or  three  inches  strong. 


CHAPTER  Vin.. 


Annatko — A  man  beats  his  wi^es — Geographical  intelligence — 
Strangers  arrive — White  wolf— Sun  leaves  us  forty-two  days— 
Tooleroak's  hut — Cbristmai-day— Distresses  of  the  uatives— 
Effect  of  the  donate. 

All  having  been  quiet  for  three  days,  the  Fury's 
people  were  sent  to  assist  in  sawing  us  up  to  our  an- 
chor. The  first  day^s  work  cleared  about  twenty  feet 
only,  as  it  was  an  extremely  laborious  operation,  it  be- 
ing requisite  to  lift  each  piece  out  on  to  the  main  floe 
as  soon  as  it  was  cut,  owing  to  the  rapid  freezing  of  the 
water. 

On  the  18th  our  united  strength  hove  the  anchor 
home,  with  seventy-two  fathoms  of  chain,  by  sheer 
force,  and  we  thus  recovered  these  lost  treasures.  We 
I  continued  catting  until  the  22d,  in  the  hopes  of  getting 
I  nearer  the  Fury  and  the  shore,  from  the  latter  of 
which  we  were  a  mile  distant;  but  we  found  that  in 
five  days  not  above  one  ship's  length  had  been  cut  and 
cleared ;  the  attempt  was  therefore  given  up,  and  the 


I 


'7 


It 


\) 


^08 


ABOTIO   COACHBS. 


.^l 


i    i 


*lt| 


*il£    ^        '■! 


fi 


i  !  ^ 


hands  all  sent  to  the  Fury,  who  lay  next  a  thin  floe  not 
far  from  us,  in  order  to  cut  her  through  it. 

From  the  Eskimaux  vre  learnt  that,  on  the  preced- 
ing day,  two  of  them  had  attacked  and  killed  a  she 
bear.  A  couple  of  wolves  had  been  seen  near  the  ships, 
in  fact  almost  within  shot. 

1  found  that  the  huts  were  now  all  neatly  lined  with 
seals'  skins,  so  sewed  as  exactly  to  fit  their  dome-shap- 
ed roofs.  This  gave  them  a  most  comfortable,  and  in 
some  few  cases,  a  clean  appearance,  but  had  made 
them  warmer  than  was  agreeable  even  to  their  inha- 
bitants, all  of  whom,  in  the  largest  bone  hut,  were 
sitting  stripped  to  their  breeches,  and  enveloped  in  a 
dense  smoke  which  exhaled  from  their  bodies.  Near 
the  village  1  found  a  boy  in  chase  of  a  large  covey  of 
about  fifty  ptarmigan,  which  were  so  tame  as  to  allow 
him  repeatedly  to  advance  within  ten  paces,  and  dis- 
charge his  arrows  at  them  ;  but  he  was,  fortunately  for 
the  birds,  a  very  bad  shot. 

The  distance  from  the  Fury  to  the  huts  was  about 
five  miles,  and  the  ofiicers  of  each  ship  always  found 
the  Eskimaux  very  ready  to  carry  them  on  their 
sledges,  but  never  forgot  they  were  to  receive  a  pre* 
sent  for  doing  so ;  and  as  the  demand  was  raised  very 
speedily,  we  foresaw  that  the  fare  for  a  place  in  the 
arctic  long  coaches  would,  in  the  end,  become  rather 
exorbitant. 

On  the  25th  we  heard  of  three  more  bears  having  j 
been  killed.     It-k&m-muk,  one  of  the  travellers  from  j 
Winter   Island,   arrived   on   board :  he    had   reached 
Igloolik  the  preceding  day,  and  the  others  of  his  party 
were  following  him  from  Amityook,  near  which  place 
he   informed  us   that    Togorlat's  unhappy  child  hadj 
died,     'i  he  traveller,  who  in  the  Hecla  we  had  gene- 
rally considered  as  half-witted,  marched  on  board  with  I 
a  most  confident  air  of  freedom,  walked  below,  shookl 
hands  with  all  his  friends,  drew  a  chair,  poked  myj 
fire,  and  assumed  the  consequence  of  a  person  nhol 
finds  himself  quite  at  home,  while  the  poor  rgloolikl 


ACCOUNT  OF  AN  ANITATKO. 


209'  ! 


people  gazed  on  him  with  the'  greatest  astonishment 
and  admiration.  I  however  really  believe,. that  with 
all  the  very  excusable  display  of  bis  intimacy  with  us, 
the  poor  creature  was.  sincerely  glad  to  be  once  more 
with  the  KaJ[>loona; 

In  one  of  my  visits  to  the  huts,  I  observed  a  young 
girl  (Sheegfi)  rocking  herself  from  leg  to  leg  as  if  nurs- 
ing an  infaiit,  and  on  asking  the  cause,  she  very  inno- 
cently produced  from  her  hood  a  large  roll  of  deer-skin, 
having  one  end  rounded  and  dressed  in  a  linen  cap, 
bordered  with  red  flannel,  which  she  told  me  was  her 
little  child.  This  was  the  first  and  only  instance  1  met 
with  of  the  young  Eskimaux  girls  amusing  themselves 
with  dolls;  for  the  small  clothed  figures  which  we  had 
purchased  of  them  were  intended  to -represent  men 
and  women,  and  a  couple  of  dozen  of  them  would  not 
have  equalled  Sheega^s  plaything,  in  bulk. 

On  the  28th  Eewerat^s.  party  arrived  «it  lgloolik,and 
Kooilittiuk,.with  Arniil6o&,  came  to  the  ships  :  they  re- 
collected all  our  names,  and  took  some  pains  to  shon- 
tbat  they  bad. not  forgotten  all  their  English..  The 
lady  was  much  altered  in  appearance,  and  rather  sulky, 
which  she  afterwards  attributed  to  the  trouble  she  ex- 
perienced from  an  eruption  on  her  arms,  generally  sup- 
posed to  be  the  itch.  Khioonabie's  child,  which  had 
been  for  some  time  unwell,  died  on  this  day. 

Ooyara  slept  on  board,  and  afforded  us  much  amuse-^ 
ment  and  information  on  some  interesting  points.     He 
was  the  first  who  even  voluntarily  and  fully  described 
the  exhibitions  of  an  annatko ;  and  gave  us  a  long 
account  of  the  deceptions  practised  by  Toplemak,  who 
certainly  appeared  to  be  a  person  of  some  considera- 
tion in  his  tribe.     I  could  not  learn  if  the  incantations 
he  described  were  performed  to  avert  any  misfortune, 
or  for  the  relief  of  a  sick  person  ;  but  the  story,  with 
appropriate  action,  was  commenced  by  our  narrator's 
{rushing  into  my  cabin  with  a -drawn  knife,,  which  we 
■were  to  suppose  quite  bloody,  in  consequence  of  haying 
Jstabbed  an  evil  spirit.    We  held  him  as  he  desired, 
■while  he  struggled  and  breathed  with.great  difficulty, 
18* 


no 


TUmT  TIXBS  HER  8TATI0K. 


at  the  same  time  telling  us  that  a  real  conjuror  would 
require  a. great  manj  men  to  secure  him.  Having 
disarmed  him  of  the  knife,  which  he  had  held  very 
firmly,  one  of  the  party  licked  the  blood  from  it ; 
the  lamp  was  then  extinguished,  and  the  cleaned  knife 
was  placed  beneath  it.  All  being  dark,  a  lai^e  com> 
pany  was  seated  round  in  the  hut,  when  the  conjuror 
crouched  on  the  floor,  and  after  various  noises  and 
repeatedly  blowing,  his  voice  gradually  retired  to  a 
distance ;  but  after  some  time,  was  again  faintly  heard 
from  below,  approaching  nearer  and  nearer,  until  at 
length,  with  a  loud  yell,  he  arrived  once  more  on  the 
floor  of  the  hut,  where  he  fell  into  strong  convulsions. 
Lights  were  then  brought,  the  knife  was  taken  from 
beneath  the  lamp,  and  again  found  covered  with  blood 
of  Tdm<g&.  This  was  licked  by  the  wizard  himself, 
who  now  gradually  recovered ;  and  it  was  not  a  little 
extraordinary  that,  instead  of  letting  the  blood  go 
down  his  throat,  he  swallowed  it  under  the  tongue. 
The  exhibition  at  length  ceased,  and  the  exhausted 
sorcerer  was  indulged  with  something  good  to  eat,  the 
general  termination  of  all  Eskimaux  assemblies. 

Ooyara  showed  us  the  manner  of  procuring  fire  by 
the  friction  of  a  pin  of  wood  in  the  hole  of  another 
piece,  and  pressed  down  like  a  drill  from  above.  The 
motion  is  given  by  a  bow  made  of  leather,  stretched 
on  a  piece  of  the  rib  of  an  animal,  or  a  deer^s  horn, 
in  the  manner  of  our  cutlers'  drill-bows :  the  flower 
of  the  willow  being  the  tinder.  We  had  never  before 
seen  this  method  put  in  practice,  and  he  informed  us 
that  he  had  learned  it  from  his  father,  rather  for 
amusement  than  for  utility ;  the  two  lumps  of  iron 
pyrites  certainly  answering  the  purpose  a  great  deal 
better. 

On  the  morning  of  the  31st  the  Fury  had  arrived  j 
within  about  300  yards  of  the  shore,  in  five  fathoms  i 
water,  the  whole  distance  cut  being  4343  feet,  which, 
in  addition  to  the  space  she  was  i'emoved  from  us  at  | 
first,  now  made  her  about  a  mile's  walk.    The  carpen- 
ters were  forthwith  set  to  build  a  house  f«>r  an  obser* 


'i^JM 


OBIKBTITOBT  BUIXT. 


sn 


vatory;  winter  orders  were  issued,  and  we  went  on 
the  same  allowance  of  provisions  and  fuel  as  in  the 
preceding  winter.  In  order  to  establish  a  regular 
communication  between  the  ships,  messengers  were 
appointed  to  pass  between  them  six  times  a  day ;  and 
for  the  security  of  any  persons  who  might  be  caught 
in  a  snow  storm,  there  was  a  line  stretched  from  the 
Fury's  bow  to  ours,  and  supported  by  pillars  of  snow  of 
the  height  of  a  man. 

Eewerat,  Togorlat,  and  their  little  child,  paid  me  a 
visit,  and  really  appeared  delighted  at  seeing  us  all 
again.  These  poor  creatures  and  their  little  party 
while  actually  travelling  must  have  gone  through  great 
hardships ;  for,  having  found  no  people  at  Amityook, 
they  had  but  two  dogs  to  draw  the  whole  of  their 
heavy  load. 

On  the  8d,  Toolemak  and  his  wife  visited  me,  and  I 

had  the  pleasure  of  witnessing  one  of  his  exhibitions 

as  a  conjuror,  which  quite  equalled  all  i  expected. 

He  also  gave  me  some  very  curious  and  interesting 

accounts  of  their  superstitions,  in  which  he  only  affected 

to  believe,  while  his  tribe  really  did  so.     Of  these, 

and  other  anecdotes  of  the  same  nature,  I  shall  speak 

more  fully  when  treating  of  the  mythology  of  these 

extraordinary  people.     Amongst  other  news  received 

at  Igloolik  from  the  newly-arrived  families,  the  old 

man  gave  me  a  full  account  of  my  two  expeditions  at 

Winter  Island ;  the  first,  when  we  so  narrowly  escaped 

beiag  frozen  to  death ;  the  second,  my  pretended  jour-* 

ney  to  Amityook.    From  these  and  other  little  histories 

I  was  fully  convinced  that,  though  to  all  appearance 

iDsensible  of  what  is  going  forward  amongst  us,  the 

ISskimaux  really  pay  great  attention  to  what  passes,! 

land,  as  in  the  present  instance,  relate  their  adventures 

Iwith  great  truth  and  spirit.     The  names  of  all  the 

Ikabloona  who  were  amost  generally  known  were  so 

liDterwoven  with  their  stories,  as  to  give  me  great 

hopes  that  those  families  who  had  travelled  to  Repulse 

ay  and  the  Wager  River  might,  by  communication' 

ith  the  southern  tril>es,  be  the  means  of  carry iof 


ill     !■      *f    ^ 
:  I. 


■r; 


212 


MATBIMONIAI^  OI8F1TTE« 


^ 


)    I 


Oil 


1  i 


accounts  of  the  expedition  to  the  factories  of  the  Hud' 
son's  Bay  Company.  . 

One  of  the  seamen,  who  with  some  of  his  messmates 
was  at  the  village,  had  a  toe  sevdrely  frost-bitten,  but 
instantly  found  a  friend  in  Toolemak,  who  led  him  to 
his  hut,  supplied  him  with  a  warm  pair  of  fur  boots, 
and  sat  above  an  hour  chafing  and  exorcising  his  foot. 
When  after  a  time  our  people  set  out  to  return  on 
board,  Toole^  ^k  observed  that  his  patient  was  still 
lame,  and  calling  them  all  back,  caught  his  dogs  and 
drove  the  whole  party  down  to  the  ship,  although  the 
night  was  setting  in.  In  order  to  make  some  return 
for  so  much  politeness,  I  detained  my  atata  on  board, 
and  gladly  spread  a  skin  for  him  before  my  fire.  As 
usual,  he  was  full  of  anecdote,  and  I  learned  from  him 
the  first  instance  of  sudden  passion  which  had  occurred 
to  our  knowledge  amongst  his  countrymen.  His  account, 
which  was  afterwards  fully  confirmed  by  the  parties 
themselves,  was  of  a  man  named  Shee-r&-ghioo,  whose 
general  character  stood  high  with  us.  It  appeared 
that  his  two  wives,  both  of  whom  were  the  mothers  of 
grown  men,  had  a  serious  quarrel  on  account  of  the  ' 
love  they  bore  him,  or  of  jealousy  at  some  marked 
preference  he  had  shown  to  one  alone.  Whatever 
the  cause,  he  was  present  during  the  altercation,  and 
they  fought  across  him,  scratching  faces  and  tearing 
each  other's  hair,  which  so  irritated  the  object  of  theii- 
contention,  that  he  seized  the  large  knife  of  his  eldest 
son,  chopped  one  lady  in  two  places  across  the  back  of 
her  hand,  and  cut  a  deep  gash,  so  much  so  that  it 
required  sewing  up,  along  the  forehead  of  the  other. 
His  rage  then  subsiding,  he  rushed  QUt  of  the  hut,  put 
the  knife  under  a  large  stone,  and  broke  it  to  pieces. 

During  the  night  I  beard  a  loud  scratching  under  the. 
counter,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  13th  it  was  found  I 
that  the  wolves  had  torn  down<jind  partly  eaten  thej 
carcass  of  &  dog  which  had  been  hanging  to  the  stern. 
.  We  had  of  late  been  much  interested  in  collecting! 
accounts  of  a  distant  tribe  of  Eskifidftux,  respecting^^j 
whom  our  curiosity  had  been  excited  by  one-  of  TooIct 


XNTOBMATION  OF  A  NEW  TRIBE. 


113 


1^^  I 


is  messmates 
ist-bitten,  but 
10  led  him  to 
of  fur  boots, 
[sing  his  foot. 
to  return  on 
Lent  was  still 
his  dogs  and 
although  the 
e  some  return 
tata  on  board, 
!  my  fire.    As 
rned  from  bitn 
ti  had  occurred 
I.  His  account, 
by  the  parties 
ii-ghioo,  whose 
.     It  appeared 
the  mothers  of 
I  account  of  the 
;  some  marked 
ne.    Whatever 
lUercation,  and 
;es  and  tearing 
J  object  of  their 
ife  of  his  eldest 
ro88  the  back  of 
ttuch  so  that  it 
id  of  the  other. 
of  the  hut,  put 
:e  it  to  pieces, 
chiog  under  the^ 
3th  it  was  found 
-lartly  eaten  the 
|ng  to  the  stem, 
'led  in  collecting 
lauxf  respecting 
ly  one  of  Tooler! 


mak's  evening  stories  to  me.  The  sum  of  the  inf  ^ 
nation  obtained  was,  that  ten  days  to  the  northward  . . 
Iglcolik  was  a  place  called  T66-ndo-negh,  at  which  a 
great  number  of  people  constantly  resided.  It  was 
situated  in  a  deep  bay,  river,  or  inlet.  Whales  were 
very  abundant  near  it,  and  three  kabloonn  ships  had 
come  there  two  or  three  years  before  to  catch  them. 
One  of  these  ships  went  away,  but  the  two  others 
came  and  communicated  with  the  natives  and  made 
them  presents :  they  then  sailed  out  to  sea. 

The  Eskimaux,  of  late  years,  had  seen  several  ships 
i    Dg  whales :  and,  as  a  proof  that  such  was  their 
occupation,  had  frequently  procured  the  krang  or  car- 
cass, from  which  the  Europeans  had  cut  the  fat.     Ice- 
hergs  ^  >eek&-16o-yung)  were  frequent  off  the  coast, 
and  were  of  an  immense  size.     1  be  sea  produced  uni- 
ctros  and  walruses,  though  the    latter  were  not  so 
numerous  as  at  Igloolik.     A  most  remarkable  and  inte- 
resting difference  of  costume   also  existed  with  the 
distant   tribe  ;    which    was,  that  in  the   summer  the 
women  wore  no  breeches,  but,  like  the  females  of  the 
Savage  islands  in  Hudson's  Strait,  used  as  a  substitute 
a  kind  of  thigh  drawers,  which,  fitting  close,  had  a 
contrivance  something  like  the  false  sleeves  of  grocers, 
drawn  up  to  meet  them,  and  fastened  at  the  waistband ; 
the  whole  arrangement,  however,  was  insufficient  to 
coyer  them  completely,  and  the  lower  part  of  the 
stomach,  with  a  portion  of  the  thighs,  was  exposed  to 
view.     We,  on  the  other  hand,  were  confident  that 
along  the  coast  of  America,  from  the  Wager  River  to 
Igloolik,  regularly-made  breeches  and  enormous  boots  ^ 
Iwere  the  invariable  dress  of  the  women.     There  were 
also  two  other  peculiarities  to  be  remarked ;  the  first 
of  which  was,  that  the  northern  people  wore  their 
hair  in  a  knot  on  th«  crown  of  the  head  ;  while  the 
jtribes  of  our  acquaintance  had  a  custom  of  arranging 
it  in  two  tdoglee-g&  or  pigtails,  one  hanging  on  each 
ide  the  Aice.     The  second  was,  that  the  kakeen  or 
kttoe  of  the  females  differed  materially  on  the  bands, 
18,  and  chin.    Of  this  we  had  convinciog  proof  in 


J, 


uf 


fiU 


A  MABMIAOB. 


K.'*  4  J 


.IM 


P:i 


two  womoD,  a  mother  and  dau|rhter,  wbo,  with  their 
families,  had  a  few  years  be  lore  come  to  settle  at 
Igloolik.  The  whole  of  two  other  families,  with 
whom  I  spoke,  had  left  their  home  a  year  or  two 
before  the  ships  came  to  their  country ;  but  the  news 
was  obtained  from  some  of  the  tribe  who  had  arrived 
only  the  precedmg  year,  and  who  had  again  left 
Igloolik. 

It  appeared  that  four  days  must  be  passed  in  crossing 
over  salt-water  ice  beforie  travellers  arrived  at  the 
land,  and  they  then  perform  the  rest  of  the  journey  on 
shore.  One  of  my  chief  informants  on  tbeae  iotC' 
resting  subjects  was  a  man  called  Mftng>il-yft,  the  bro. 
ther  of  old  Kettle. 

On  the  16th,  Captain  Parry  visited  me  with  a  fine 
team  of  dogs,  which  he  had  pur'jhased  fVom  the  Eski^ 
maux ;  and  much  to  the  credit  of  their  former  masters, 
they  stipulated,  when  selling  them,  that  they  shonld 
not  be  killed,  as  bad  been  done  in  two  instances  by 
some  of  our  peopfe.  In  one  of  these  cases,  the  man 
who  bought  the  dog  asked  the  native  who  sold  it  to 
assist  him  in  skinning  it  when  dead,  and  for  that  pu^ 
pose  put  a  knife  into  his  hand ;  but  the  poor  iellow, 
with  a  noblenesji  of  feeling  which  I  should  not  bare 
supposed  in  bis  nature,  threw  it  from  him,  and,  witii- 
cut  answering  a  word,  walked  away  in  contempt. 

Young  Too-loo-ak,  of  the  Winter  island  tribe,  arrived 
from  Amityook ;  at  which  place  he  had  left  his  fathet 
and  mother,  with  Kettle,  and  several  others.  This 
young  man  came  to  take  possession  of  his  young  and 
handsome  wife,  Erk-tu& ;  for  which  no  farther  ceremo- 
ny was  requisite  than  taking  his  seat  by  her  side  the 
moment  he  entered  the  hut,  thus  establishing  himselfj 
as  lord  and  master.  On  the  following  day,  the  yoangi 
couple  paid  Captain  Parry  a  visit-;  and  the  bridegrooaj 
being  an  old  favourite,  was  enriched  by  the  present 
a  boardinff-pike  and  some  useful  household  effeci 
while  his  fair  lady  was  embellished  with  a  profasioi| 
of  beads  and  tinsel :  botii  looked  exceedingly  sheepiih,| 
Mid  liad  tetj  little  to  8»y  for  themselTei :  the  ' 


WOlVBf. 


I^uul  was  abooi  •«.^.a  '1^ 

aUmaM  we  had  vet  ..ll  J  ?  "*•  •»•  was  the  taliJ!? 

,  <*««  ed,  and  .OBewbat  deuS.I  •""  ""  *'>'».  narrow 
kmak  had  made  me  the  moSi',*  ?  ?PP««r«Dce.    t"  . 

•f -Wch  w,i,?C  "„  Xe»d  "^'--'k'o":    he"'  ;" 
yancm/f  rapidiy,  and  mot-   ^^  appeared  to  him    o7 

Rediscovered  the  %ure  o?Vt^  ^!  "  °««»-er approach 
*««7  whichi  S^hadiate,'"^""'  ""^  "■«  "'iT"' 

Ilk«i«h  it  was  ihf        •""'•  ""''  greJit^  u    '  ""'' 
III.  m.V  ^    *"*  means  of  hln  o»mI      ••  ™  oninour. 

JwlFegrMhedfort  ^^^^  ^"*«nc«  before  thL£' !?®"» 
«*  on  the  30th'  llfr!^' '""'"«»  'nived  at  feiooWt 

^•M  p^."?^  S.rr'«  (Ketuejr  ^t;*"?  "j-^" 


!..!? 


i 


216 


WOLTBt  KIXL  A  DOG. 


If   }     ■  .* 


11        ^'*     i 


in  point  of  appearance,  being  equally  ugly  and  dirty. 
Tlie  liusband  was  tlie  young  Tooloowak,  wlio  liad  so 
mucli  distinguislied  liimtelf  in  tlie  IKtle  summer  excur- 
sion which  I  had  made  oyer  the  ice  to  Khe-mlg.  This 
pair  exhibited  the  same  symptoms  of  mawvaue  hontt  as 
the  other  newly  married  couple ;  and  in  both  instances 
I  observed  that  the  women  were  in  a  high  state  of 
subjection  to  their  young  husbands. 

The  2d  of  December  was  a  day  of  some  importance 
to  us,  as  we  saw  the  sun  for  the  last  time.  The^upper 
limb  was  seen  for  a  few  minutes  at  noon ;  but  so  dimly, 
and  so  curiously  distorted  by  refraction,  that  its  appear- 
ance can  scarcely  be  conceived  by  those  who  I  hope 
may  never  pass  a  day  without  being  blessed  with  the 
light  of  the  Almighty^s  niost  glorious  work. 

it-kammnk  came  to  me  in  great  distress,  in  conse- 
quence of  a  severe  fit  of  lumbago  which  afflicted  him, 
and  he  earnestly  requested  that  his  wife  might  be  per- 
mitted to  wash  his  back  with  soap.     This  the  lady  per- 
formed under  my  instructions,  and  I  gave  further  direc- 1 
tions  that  he  should  undergo  a  good  scrubbing  every 
morning  as  long  as  a  large  piece  of  soap  which  1  gave  | 
him  should  last.     This,  with  the  application  of  my  mu- 
sical snuff-box  to  his  loins,  a  specific  in  all  difficult! 
cases,  gave  him  great  relief;  and  having  offered  me 
bis  wife ^s  boots  as  a  fee,  -le  set  o^  to  comfort  his  old 
mother,  who  remained  crying  at  home    until  his  re- 
turn. 

In  the  afternoon  a  wolf  came  nearly  along-side  the  I 
Hecla,  when  Captain  Parry's  greyhound  and  Mr.  Reid's 
terrier  both  went  after  him.  Two  men  were  instantlyl 
sent  armed  to  bring  back  the  dogs,  and  if  possible  tol 
destroy  the  wolf;  and  it  being  a  thick  day,  they  were! 
all  soon  out  of  sight.  The  wolf  had  been  obserTecJl 
either  to  have  been  outrun,  or  to  stop  occasionally  to| 
attack  the  greyhound,  while  the  little  dog  kept  forwar 
as  well  as  he  could.  At  the  end  of  two  or  three  hounl 
the  people  returned  with  Captain  Parry's  dog,  bn 
poor  little  Spark  was  missing.  A  space  was  found  oo] 
the  snow  which  was  much  trampled,  and  a  few  drops  ( 


A  NIGHT'S  VISIT  TO  TOOlFiu.^. 
....  ^OOa-EMAK's  hut.      01  T 

when^VlcoLpa"^ied*?;^'*  occurred   until    the  isfh 

kiod,  and  the  visit  gave  DeinP  ^^  '"^  ^'"^•"^  ^as  most 

70  after' Captarn'VaTrvTd'/Jr"     ««  XneS 
kiee,  and  untying  one  of  h^K.   '®^*  ""e*  ^n  very  hi^h 
ooioos,   or  woSt/A^^^^^'Producedfr^^ 

?«eces  oftin,  after  which  he  sTf  ^°^^'  ^"^^^'^  and 
a  frozen  waJrus  airainst  tL  -i^  ^  '^^''k  in  proDnin* 
«?ake  more  room'^ThV  ^  ff  .  «'  ^?  '^"^  ^n'^^rd'L^^^f 
Eslumauic  were  now  to   hi     '"JP^^^ant  duties  of  an 

Ijan,  with  his  adoprdLVd'^r^^'   ^°^  ^^^  o^d 
f^.^^c^ssionofaSimajenseDo^^  sat  down  to 

0  this  I  determined  on  beinri""^?^ff«eal's  flesh 
Jon  to  being  very  hungrv  A»,l ''"?.''"'''  ««  "  addi-' 
Ifrom  having  a  few  dava  iS       *^  *'"*'*'•«'•  inducement 
|a  most  important  lessen  in  ^ohr'^'^^^  ^^  ^oolS 
F° ^y  cabin,  and  had  mad"  av^t^f    ^^  ^«d  slept 

Cr  f  "i:^^  him  to  eat  oFdrLk  T''^^''^  ^'^«?.  • 
Ntit  might  be  to  bis  oal^t^l       '.  however  repufl-- 

h  presented  to  him,  fft1/«'^7^^^ 
N  the  kabioona  onenlerL.  w    T"'"^  ^^^^  J  "but 
>eir  noses,  refused  what  wl  nt^.    ^''J'*^^  *"^««d  u„ 
h^P  said  "  dirty,"  or  «  bid  -  ^  tk-"^"^  »^  ^^e^,  and 
N  inconsequence  1  determine/?'"  "^^^  «t"c%  true 
f  kf.  to  do  as  my  host  d?d    1^  f^'  ^^  fi^^^^i  breeding^' 


i 

ii 

I 


I- 


i   1 


¥i  »^- 


M 


)i 


^  318  anight'^  Tisn^ 70 tooixmak's  hut. 

eompliments,  for  they  were  all  aware  that  raw  flesh 
in  parfteular  was  always  rejected  by  us.  Toolemak  ivas 
so  pleasejd  at  my  compliance,  that  he  volunteered  to 
call  his  Tomgaa  from  the  shades  below,  and  a  large 
parly  were  invited  to  be  present  at  the  mysteries. 
As  his  performance  is  connected  with  what  I  had 
before  heard  on  board,  I  shall  give  an  account  of 
both  together  when  speaking  of  the  superstitions  of 
the  Eskimaux. 

The  incantations  being  finished,  and  the  audience 
dispersed,  we  prepared  for  bed.  Toolemak's  son  and 
dauehter-in-law  stripped  and  turned  in  on  one  side, 
while  my  worthy  Amama  and  Ortata  did  the  same  on 
the  other.  A  new  seal's  skin  was  spread  between  the 
two  couples,  and  on  this  I  took  up  my  quarters.  Dur- 
ing the  stillness  of  the  night  I  was  startled  by  hearing 
loud  explosions,  which  so  much  resembled  the  report  | 
of  great  guns,  as  to  induce  me  to  awaken  the  sleepers, 
and  ask  the  cause.  They  accounted  for  the  noise  as 
being  occasioned  by  the  cold  bursting  the  earth.  Had 
it  not  been  for  this  explanation,  I  should  have  fancied  j 
that  the  ships  were  firing  signal  guns,  as  I  could  scarce- 
ly have  supposed  that  the  frost  would  have  such  powerl 
after  the  earth  had  been  frozen  during  three  months,] 
and  when  it  might  be  imagined  to  have  become  cooledl 
as  much  as  was  possible.  At  3  a,  m.  on  the  14th,  wel 
got  up  and  dressed  ourselves ;  the  first  motions  ofthel 
Eskimaux  being  to  seize  a  knife  and  a  lump  of  flesh/ 
The  frozen  walrus  was  lowered  down,  and  cut  intof 
two  portions,  the  laigest  of  which  was  kept  by  Toole 
mak,  while  the  other  was  sent  to  the  man  who  hail 
killed  and  really  owned  the  animal.  From  having  oj 
^  other  occasions  observed  the  same  distribution  of  focdf 
'  1  am  convinced  that  the  old  man,  either  from  his  prol 
fession  as  an  Anatkoo,  or  his  abilities  as  a  hunter,  haj 
Invariably  a  share  of  whatever  provision  was  takcj 
from  the  stores  along  the  beach,  as  well  as  of  animi 
which  were  killed  in  the  daily  excursions.  That  I 
was  not  selfish  in  what  his  authority  procured  him,  w| 
always  evident  from  the  quantity  of  feeders  by  whoj 


at  raw  flesh 
oolemakwas 
jlunteered  to 
and  a  large 
be  mysteries. 
I  what  1  tad 
an  account  of 
iperatitions  of 

the  audience 
smaVs  son  and 
i  on  one  side, 
lid  the  same  on 
id  between  the 
aufTters.  D«i- 
^Icd  by  beanng 
bled  the  report 
en  the  sleepers, 
for  the  noise  as 
theeartb.  Had 
lid  bavc  fancied! 
as  1  could  scarce- 
have  sucb  power 
,g  tbree  months, 
re  become  cooled 
ontbel4th,je 
•St  motions  of  the 

,  a  lump  of  flesh 
Ln,  and  cut  mW 
L  kept  by  Toole 
Bie  man  who  ha 
From  having  0 
.stributlonoffoo3 

ther  from  his  pn 
8  as  a  hunter,  ha 
©vision  was  takfi 
well  as  of  aniffi! 
iursions.  W  , 
I  procured  him,  wj 
f  feeders  hy  «H 


f 


OHBISTBIAS  DAT. 


;^<e 


219 


Iris  hut  was  constantly  filled ;  and  on  this  morning,  in 
particular^  there  was  not  during  four  hours  a  vacant 
place.  Amongst  other  hungry  people  came  old  Kettle, 
who  no  sooner  appeared,  than  Toolemak  addressed 
him  in  a  jeering  tone,  with  ^^  N&kkftkhioos,  a  thief 
To  this  rude  greeting  I  was  astonished  at  hearing 
Kettle  answer  in  a  most  humorous  manner,  by  relating 
the  circumstance  of  his  having  robbed  Pftri,  which 
excited  gpreat  merriment  in  all  present,  and  most  parti- 
cularly in  the  narrator  himself.  When  1  prepared  to 
leave  the  village,  and  while  the  people  were  catching 
my  dogs,  Toolemak  asked  me  very  seriously  if  any  one 
hall  said  *^  Pillitay''  to  me,  and  in  strict  justice  I  must 
say,  that  in  this  solitary  instance  no  one  begged  from 
me.  I  suspected  that  this  moderation  proceeded  from 
some  warning  given  by  Toolemak,  to  whom  I  had 
frequently  excused  myself  from  going  to  the  huts,  by 
complaining  of  the  unceasing  and  general  demand  which 
was  made  for  presents.  My  principal  gratification  in 
this  visit  consisted  in  having  been  enabled  to  pass  a 
night  amongst  the  Eskimaux  in  the  middle  of  the  sea- 
sob  of  diirkness,  and  to  observe  the  still  continued  re- 
gularity which  existed  in  their  dwellings  during  so 
wretched  a  period. 

December  22nd.  We  had  now  arrived  at  the  short- 
est day,  yet  although  the  sun  was  at  noon  below  the 
horizon,  and  had  not  been  seen  for  twenty  days,  we 
still  had  very  tolerable  twilight  for  two  hours  before 
and  after  noon,  and  therefore  had  never  found  the 
weather  so  dark  as  to  preclude  our  taking  the  requisite 
exercise.  Captain  Parry  and  myself  were  frequently 
in  the  habit  of  driving  a  mile  or  two  together  with  our 
respective  sledges,  and  found  much  amusement  in  doing 
so,  as  we  had  both  become  great  whips,  and  had  most 
excellent  dogs. 

Christmas  Day  was  celebrated  by  our  attending 
icburch  in  the  forehoon,  after  which  the  people  return- 
led  to  the  inbportant  discussion  of  various  pies,  puddings, 
l&c.  Captain  Parry  dined  with  me,  and  was  treated 
with  a  superb  display  o^pttard  and  cress,  with  about 


>  '» 


1 


ti 


220 


WANTS   OF  THE   NATIVES. 


^ii 


t"fi 


-'H    -i 


fifty  onions  rivaling  a  fine  needle  in  size,  which  I  had 
reared  in  boxes  round  my  cabin-stove.  All  our  messes 
in  either  ship  were  supplied  with  an  extra  pound  of 
real  English  firesh  beef,  which  had  been  hanging  at 
our  quarter  for  eighteen  months.  We  could  not  afford 
to  leave  it  for  a  farther  trial  of  keeping,  but  1  have  no 
doubt  that  double  the  period  would  not  have  quite 
spoiled  its  flavour. 

.  On  the  31st,  two  of  the  Eskimaux  slept  on  board  in 
my  cabin.  Ooyara  informed  me,  that  a  bear  had  been 
killed  on  the  preceding  night  on  the  ice  near  the  huts, 
by  his  brother-in-law,  who  afterwards  presented  his 
sister  with  a  shoulder  of  it.  The  hunters  occasionally 
killed  a  seal  or  two,  and  sometimes  a  walrus ;  but  in 
this  precarious  success  they  could  not  hope  to  support 
so  great  a  number  as  by  the  recent  arrivals  were  now 
assembled  at  Igloolik.^  We  therefore  made  such  ar- 
rangements as  our  circumstances  would  permit,  for 
giving  to  the  women  and  children,  or  to  those  who 
were  most  distressed,  an  occasional  supply  of  bread 
dust  and  oil.  The  Fury  fed  the  visitors  for  one  week, 
and  the  Hecia  the  next,  so  that  we  might  be  certain 
that  no  one  received  double  allowance.  Women  came 
down  daily  with  children  at  their  backs  to  beg  for  this  j 
food,  although  the  walk  to  and  fro  was  about  twelve 
miles,  and  the  general  temperature  to  which  them- 
selves and  offspring  were  exposed  was  from  35.  to  42. 
below  zero  !  As  for  ourselves,  in  the  ships,  we  were] 
blessed  with  excellent  health,  and  enjoyed  every  com- 
fort which  our  splendid  outfit  and  the  nature  of  our  situ- 
ation would  permit.  In  this  second  winter,  however, 
we  very  readily  admill'^d  the  truth  of  the  old  navalj 
adage,  that  "  the  second  year  tries  a  man  ;"  for  those! 
•who  felt  the  least  inconvenience  from  the  cold  at  Win-f 
ter  Island  were  now  as  much  distressed  by  it  as  thv 

.  others.  As  I  was  one  of  this  number,  1  shall  state  myj 
own  case,  which  was  the  more  remarkable,  from  thej 
extraordinary  and  almost  sudden  change  l*had  experi-r 

'  enced  from  the  hottest  to  the  coldest  climate  on  {\^ 
globe. 


t 


EFFECT  OV  THE  CLIMATE. 


221 


vihich  I  had 
l\  our  messes 
tra  pound  ot 
n  hanging  at 
old  not  afford 
but  I  have  no 
t  have   quite 

pt  on  board  in 

bear  had  been 

near  the  huts, 

presented  his 

rs  occasionally 

walrus;  but  in 

jope  to  support 

ivals  were  now 

made  such  ar- 

aid  permit,  for 

r  to  those  who 

supply  of  hread 

•8  for  one  week, 

night  be  certain 

"Women  came 

9  to  beg  for  this 

49  about  twelve 

to  which  them- 

from  35.  to  42. 

ships,  we  were 

oyed  every  com- 

atureofoursitu- 

inter,  however, 

of  the  oW  naval 

man;"  for  M 
the  cold  at  Wm' 
iBsed  by  it  as  tk 
1  shall  state  my 
Irkable,  from  the 
igeVbadexvej 
it  climate  on  \m 


At  our  first  quarters  my  clothing,  with  the  exception 
of  a  thicker  jacket,  was  the  same  as  1  had  worn  during 
the  summer.  1  never  exceeded  one  pair  of  thin  wors- 
ted stockings,  neither  did  I  find  it  requisite,  unless  the 
weather  was  windy,  to  wear  either  a  great  coat  or 
comforter  when  walking  out.  There  were  two  or 
three  others  equally  insensible  to  the  cold  as  myself; 
but  the  change  of  climate  had  an  effect  on  me,  which  I 
believ«i  was  not  experienced  by  the  rest,  and  which 
was,  that  the  hair  from  my  body  regularly  moulted,  if 
1  may  be  excused  the  expression,  and  was  renewed 
two  or  three  times;  even  in  the  summer  following, 
and  this  second  winter,  the  process  still  continued, 
although  in  a  slighter  degree.  My  health  all  this 
time  was  better  than  1  had  ever  enjoyed  for  so  long  a 
period.  But,  to  return  to  Igloolik.  We  all  now  felt 
the  absolute  necessity  of  putting  on  additional  clothing ; 
both  while  below  and  when  walking  out,  coldness  in  the 
feet  was,  I  believe,  the  most  general  complaint.  The 
weather  was  suddenly  much  more  severe  than  at  our 
last  station,  and  the  mean  temperature  of  December  was 
lower  than  at  Melville  Island.  Our  stove-funnels  col- 
lected a  quantity  of  ice  within  them,  notwithstanding 
fires  were  kept  up  night  and  day,  so  that  it  was  fre- 
quently requisite  to  take  them  down  in  order  to  break 
and  melt  the  ice  om  of  them,  as  it  collected  in  the  same 
form  as  the  pulp  of  a  cocoa-nut  lies  within  its  shell. 

It  Is  remarkable  that  the  Hecla  cracked  as  much  and 
as  often  in  the  coldest  weather  as  she  did  in  *he  former 
winter,  which  proves  that  the  sap  of  the  timber,  even 
after  the  trial  of  three  hard  seasons,  is  still  influenced 
and  acted  upon  by  the  frost.  The  Fury,  as  Captain 
Parry  informed  me,  was  less  affected.  * 

During  the  dark  season,  I  m^an  the  time  that  we 

I  did  not  at  all  see  the  sun,  it  was  remarked  with  asto- 

Inishment  that  the  aurora  borealis  was  very  rarely  seen, 

in  fact  only  once  or  twice,  and  then  so  faintly  as  scarce- 

|ly  to  call  our  attention. 

To  a  .)ca  who,  like  myself,  merefy  keeps  a  journal 
[for  tho  {imusement  of  himself  and  family,  it  may  b6  ex- 
19  * 


I  « 

■I 


^22 


DCSCBIPTION  OF  THE, 


\?   i 


J  J 


>     1 


f, 


11 VI 


cused  if  he  does  all  he  can  to  make  it  look  well.  This 
is  precisely  my  case,  and,  like  a  little  school-boy  with 
the  last  page  of  his  copy-book,  I  purpose  winding  up 
with  something  pretty,  in  order  that  1823  may  begin  a 
new  book.  I  therefore  shall  attempt  to  give,  as  far  as 
my  limited  descriptive  powers  wUl  admit,  a  general 
account  of  the  Eskimaux  who  have  been  figuring  away 
in  so  many  pages  of  this  journal,  without  my  having 
said  what  colour,  shape,  or  peculiarities  they  are  dis- 
tinguished by,  and  which  is  as  follows. 


«, 


CHAPTER  IX. 


;-M 


Persons  of  the  Eskimaux — Their  dress  and  ornaments— Occupa- 
tions of  the  women — Canoes — Sledges-^Weapcns — Hunting  ou 
-':  the  ice— Dogs-— Land  animals — ^Wolf  traps— Fishing — Geogra- 
>  phical  knowledge — General  disposition — Marriages — Estimation 
t^,  of  womenr— Tretttffieat  of  children — Conduct  to  the  aged,  the 
.     sick)  and  the  dead— Superstitions. 

Of  the   persons  and  features    of  the   Eskimaux.— 
The  Eskimaux  whom  we  had  seen  at  Winter  Island  i 
and   Igloolik  comprised  nearly  all  the  inhabitants  of| 
the  north-east  coast  of  America,  from  the  Wager  Ri- 
ver to  our  second  winter  quarters,  and  as  they  were  I 
all  related  by  blood  or  marriage,  I  may  speak  of  them 
as  one  tribe.    Th<iy  may  more  properly  be  termed  a  I 
small  than  even  a  middle-sized  race.    For  though  in] 
some  few  Instances,  and  in  particular  families,  the  meol 
are  tall  and  stoat,  yet  the  greater  portion  of  the  tribe] 
a(e  beneath  the  standard  of  what  in  Europe  would  bej 
called,  small  men.    .The  tallest  I  saw  was  five  feetl 
nine  inches  and  three  quarters  in  height ;  the  sbortesi 
only  four  feet  ten  inches ;  and  the  highest  woman  TvasT 
five  feet  six  inches,  while  the  smallest  was  four  feeU 
eight  inches  only ;  between  these,  of  course,  thera 
were  intermediate  sizes,  all,  however,  inclining  to  tba 
lowest  scale..    Ev^n  in  the  young  and  strong  men  m 


PEB80X9  07  THE  ESKIMAVX. 


229 


well.   This 

[)ol-boy  with 

winding  up 

may  begin  a 

ive,  a»  ^^^  *^ 
lit,  a  general 
Sguring  away 

it  iny  having 
they  are  dis- 


,e   Eshimaux.'- 
t  Winter  Island 
e  inhabitants  of 
1  the  Wager  Ri- 
nd as  Ihey  were 
y  speak  of  them 
.rly  be  termed  a 
For  though  in 
families,  the  men 
tion  of  the  tribe 
[Europe  would  be 
^w  was  five  feet 
Ut ;  the  shortest 
gbest  woman  wsj 
'Tat  was  four  feel 
of  course,  there 
.,  inclining  to  hj 
strong  menlh' 


muscles  are  not  clearly  defined,  but  are   smoothly 
covered,  as  in  the  limbs  of  women  ;  and  though  when 
dressed  they  appear  stout  well-set  people,  yet,  taking 
them  in  a  body,  their  figures  when  uncovered  are 
rather  weak  than  otherwise.    There  is  a  remarkable 
contradiction  in  the  form  of  the  most  robust,  which  is, 
that  however  prominent  and  well  shaped  the   chest 
may  be,  the  neck  is  small,  weak,,  and  often  shrivelled. 
They  all  stand  well  on  their  feet,  walking  erect  and 
freely,  with  the  toes  rather  turned  inwards,  and  the 
legs  slightly  bowed.    Their  bodily  strength  is  not  so 
great  as  might  be  expected  in  people  who,  from  their 
iafancy,  are  brought  up  in  hardy  living  and  labour. 
Of  this  I  had  sufficient  proof,  by  matching  our  people 
with  Eskimaux  of  equal  sizes  to  lift  weights,  and  it 
JDvariably  happened  that  burthens,  which  were  raised 
with  facility  by  ovv  people,  could  scarcely  be  lifted 
by  the  natives.    They  are  active   wrestlers  amongjt 
themselves,  but  can  neither  run  nor  jump.    Hardy  and 
patient  of  fatigue,  yet,  for  persons  brought  up  in  so 
severe  a  climate,  they  bear  the  cold  with  less  indif- 
ference than  1  should  have  expected.    Few  amongst 
them  are  in  the  slightest  degree  inclined  to  corpu- 
lency, although   pot-bellies  are  universal.    The   fe- 
males have  a  greater  tendency,  perhaps  from  their  se- 
dentary habits,  to  grow  fat.    Their  plumpness,  howev- 
er, does  not  seem  wholesome,  but  more  properly  may 
be  called,  bloated,  and  that  only  on  particular  parts  of 
the  body. 

The  neck  and  shoulders  of  the  young  women  are 
generally  in  good,  though  large,  proportion ;.  and  the 
arm  and  wrists  are  sometimes  handsome.  The  feet 
of  both  sexes  are  small  and  neat,  well  joined  at  the 
ankle,  and  free  from  blemishes..  The  women,  from 
the  peculiar  form  of  their  boots,  of  which  I  shall  soon 
have  occasion  to  speak,  have  a  gait  like  that  of  a  fat 
Masco vy  dm.k,  and  they  run  unlike  any  creature  I  ever 
sanr,  with  their  legs  spread  out  and  toes  turned  in,  so 
as  to  avoid  being  tripped  up  by  their  boots.  For  some 
[time  I  was  incUned  to  iancy  that  the  hands  of  these 


Kiii 


fei/i- 


U»   -!    ,    V 


224 


SEsomiFrioir  ov  ths 


people  were  small  and  well  shaped,  bat  latterly  I 
changed   my   opinion,  and  it  was  evident,  from  re- 
peated observations,  that  the  original  form  was  spoiled 
by  labour.    The  fingers  were  short  but  not  taper,  and 
the  palm  was  disproportionately  broad.     The  hands  of 
the  natives  whom  we   met  in  Hudson^s  Strait  were 
certainly  far  better  shaped.    The  skin  in  both  sexes 
appeared  to  be  and  was  quite  smooth,  being  unctnous^ 
and  unpleasantly  cold  to  the  touch.    Contrary  to  its 
outward  show  of  fineness,  it  was,  even  in  the  females, 
very  tough.    The  complexion  of  the  Eskimaux,  wheo 
clearly  shown  by  a  previous  washing,  is  not  darker 
than  that  of  a  Po.  ^uguese,  and  such  parts  of  the  body 
as  are  constantly  covered  do  not  fall  short  in  faimes 
to  the  generality  of  the  natives  of  the  Mediterranean, 
A  very  fine  healthy  blush  tinges  the  cheek  of  females 
and  young  children,  but  the  men  are  more  inclined  to 
a  sallow  complexion.    The  features  of  the  face  are 
diversified   in  an  extraordinary  manner,  yet,  like  the 
Jews,  they  have,  even  when  their  countenances  are 
shaped  like  Europeans,  an  expression  altogether  pe- 
culiar.    This   may  be  attributed  to  the   remarkable 
formation  of  the  eye,  which  is  in  all  alike.     The  in- 
Iser  corner  points  downivards,  like  that  of  a  Chinese, 
and  the  carunculus  lachrymalis,  which  in  Europeans  is 
exposed,  is  covered  by  a   membrane   which  passes 
over  it  vertically.    The  skin  over  the  upper  part  ot 
the  nose,  between  the  eyes,  is  frequently,  particularly 
in  the  women,  stretched  as  tight  as  the  covering  of  a 
drum.     The  eyes  are  small  and  black,  expressive  and 
sparkling   when  animated,  and  in  most  infants  and  a 
few  young  girls  really  very  beautiful.     Even  in  mid- 
dle aged,  or  indeed  young  persons,  the  corner  of  the 
eye  is  marked  by  that  dreaded  figure,  the  crow's  foot ; 
but  in  old  people  the  wrinkles  are  so  abundant,  as  to 
cover  the  temples,  and  to  stray  down  the  cheek  to  a 
degree  we  never  see  in  Europe.    Another  peculiarity, 
though  not  so  evident  in  all  faces,  is  the  prominence  | 
of  the  cheek  bones,  which  frequently  presents  so  flat  a 
surface,  as  to  give  to  the  .7<mien  in  particular  the  ap'  I 


PERSONS   OF  THE   ESKIMAVX. 


225 


pearance  of  having  faces  as  broad  as  they  are   long. 
it  is  in  consequence  of  this  form,  that  the  noses  of  such 
as  are  full  faced  are  literully  buried  between  the  pro- 
jections, and  one  of  our  chief  belles  wits  so  remarka- 
ble in  this  way,  that  a  rular,  when  placed  from  cheek 
to  chaek,  would  not  touch  the  nose  !  In  some  families, 
where  both   parents  had   oval  faces,  the  children  all 
resembled  them ;  and  about  a  sixth  part  of  the  people 
we  saw  had   high   Ruman   noses,  and  an  expression  of 
countenance,  excepting  always  the  eyes,  which  seem- 
ed of  a  different  race.     The  other,  and  far  the  largest 
portion    of  the    tribe,   are   broad    and    nearly    round 
visaged.     The  mouth   is  generally  kept  open,  with  a 
kind  of  idiotic  expression,  so  that  the  teeth  of  either 
jaw  are  generally  shown.     The  lips  are  rather  promi- 
nent, and  !  think,  if  any  difference  at  all  existp,  that  in 
the  men  the  lower,  and  in  the  women  the  upper  lip  is 
the  larf^est.     The  mouths  are   large,  yet  have  a  very 
wholesome    healthy    appearance.      The     teeth     are 
strong  and  deeply  fixed  in  the  gums.     They  are  form- 
ed like  rounded  ivor  pegs,  and   are  as  fiat  on  the  up- 
per end  as  if  filed  down.     Old  peonie  have  them  worn 
quite  even  with  the  gums,  and  it  is  but  rarely  that 
any  are  decayed.     The  chin  is  small  and   peaked,  and 
what  we  call  a  flouble  chin  is  rare,  the   skin  generally 
collapsing  in  fat  people,  instead  of  forming  in   a  roll. 
The  beards  of  the   men  are  scanty,  but  few  instances 
occurring  of  the   ohin  being  entirely  covered.     The 
moustaches  are  more  thick.     The  hair  of  both  sexes  is 
straight,  coarse,  and   of  a  raven  black.     In  infants  it 
has,  for  a  few  years,  a  shade   of  brown.     On  the  bo- 
dies of  adults  there  is  but  little  hair,  in  fact,  some  are 
totally  destitute  of  it. 

Dress  and  ornaments.— -The  costume  of  the  people 
I  am  now  describing  differs  very  much  from  that  of 
the  Hudson's  Strait  savages,  though  an  equal  degree 
of  neatness  and  ingenuity  is  displayed  in  the  work  of 
each.  The  clothes  of  bv  th  sexes  are  principally  com- 
posed of  fine  and  well  prepared  rein-deer  pelts ;  the 
of  bears,  seals,  wolves,  foxes,  and   marmotteS) 


if  III 


VH 


, 


2S6 


DRBSS  AND  ORNAMENTS 


are  aha  used.  The  seal  skins  are  seldom  employed 
for  any  part  of  the  dress,  except  boots  and  shoes,  as 
being  more  capable  of  resisting  water,  and  of  far  great- 
er durability  tfflk  other  leather. 

The  general  winter  dress  of  the  men  is  an  ample 
outer  coat  of  deer^s  skin,  having  no  opening  in  front, 
and  a  large  hood,  which  is  drawn  over  the  head  at 
pleasure.  This  hood  is  invariably  bordered  with 
white  fur  from  the  thighs  of  the  deer,  and  thus  pre- 
sents a  lively  contrast  to  thfe  dark  face  which  it  en- 
circles. The  front,  or  belly  part  of  the  coat,  is  cut 
off  square  with  the  upper  part  of  the  thighs ;  but  be- 
hind it  is  formed  into  a  broad  skirt,  rounded  at  the 
lower  end)  which  reaches  to  within  a  few  inches  of 
the  ground.  The  lower  edges  and  tails  of  these  dres- 
ses are  in  some  cases  bordered  with  bands  of  fur  of  an 
opposite  colour  to  the  body,  and  it  is  a  favourite  orna- 
ment to  hang  a  fringe  of  little  strips  of  skin  beneath 
the  border.  These  embellishments  giye  a  very  pleas- 
ing appearance  to  the  dress.  It  is  customary,  in  blow- 
ing weather,  to  tie  a  piece  of  skin  or  cord  tight  round 
the  waist  of  the  Ooat ;  btit  in  other  cases  the  dress 
hangs  loose.  ^  Within  the  coverii^  I  have  just  describ- 
ed is  another  of  precisely  the  same  form ;  but  though 
destitute  of  ornaments  of  leather,  it  has  frequently  lit- 
tle strings  of  beads  hanging  to  it  from  the  shoulders  or 
small  of  the  back.  This  dress  is  of  thinner  skin,  and 
acts  as  a  shirt,  the  hairy  part  being  placed  next  the 
body  :  it  is  the  in-doors  habit.  When  walking,  the  tail 
is  tied  up  by  two  strings  to  the  back,  so  that  it  may  not 
incommode  the  legs.  Besides  these  two  coats,  thej{ 
have  also  a  large  cloak,  or,  in  fact,  an  open  deer-skin, 
with  sleeves :  this,  from  its  size,  is  more  frequently  I 
used  as  a  blanket ;  and  1  but  once  saw  it  worn  by  a 
man  at  the  sLIp,  although  the  women  throw  it  over 
their  shoulders  to  shelter  themselves  and  children  | 
while  sitting  on  the  sledge. 

The  trowsers,  which  are  tightly  tied  round  the  loins,  | 
have  Ho  waistbands,  but  depend  entirely  by  the  draw- 
ing-strings ;  they  are  generally  of  deers' skin,  and  orna- 


07  THE  XSHIMAirX. 


fisr 


mented  in  the  sarae  manner  as  the  coats.  One  of  the 
most  favouiite  patterns  is  ah  arrangement  of  the  ikins 
ofdeers'  legs,  so  r^  iO  form  very  pretty  stripes.  As 
with  the  jackets,  there  are  two  pair  of  these  indispoi- 
sables,  reaching  no  lower  than  tibe  knee-cap,  which  is 
a  cause  ofi^at  distress  in  cold  weather,  as  that  part 


is  frequenlj  se?erely  frost-hitten ;  yet,  with  all  their 
experience  of  this  bad  contrif  ance,  they  will  n'*^  add 
ao  inch  to  the  established  length. 

The  boots  reach  to  the  bottom  of  the  breeches,  which 
hang  loosely  over  them.    In  these,  as  in  the  other  parts 
of  the  dress,  are  many  varieties  of  colour,  material,  and 
pattern,  yet  in  shape  they  never  vary.    The  general 
winter  boots  are  of  deer  skin ;  one  having  the  hair 
neit  the  leg,  and  the  other  with  the  fur  outside.    A 
pair  of  soft  slippers  of  the  same  kind  are  worn  between 
the  two  pair  of  boots,  and  outside  of  all  a  strong  seal 
skin  shoe  is  pulled  to  the  height  of  the  ankle,  where  it 
is  tightly  secured  by  a  drawing  string.    For  hunting 
excursions,  or  in  summer  when  the  country  is  thawed, 
one  pair  of  boots  only  is  worn.    They  are  of  scales 
skin,  and  so  well  sewed  and  prepared  without  the  hmr, 
ihat  although  completely  saturated,  they  allow  no  wa- 
ter to  pass  through  them.    The  soles  are  generally  of 
the  tough  hide  of  the  walrus,  or  of  the  lai^e  seal  culed 
Oo^hioo,  so  that  the  feet  are  well  protected  in  walk- 
ing over  rough  grcund.    Slippers  are  sometimes  worn 
outside.    In  both  cases  the  boots  are  tightly  fastened 
round  the  instep  with  a  thong  of  leather.    The  mittens 
In  common  use  are  of  deer  sidn,  with  the  hair  inside ; 
bat  in  fact  every  kind  of  skin  is  used  for  them.    They 
are  extremely  comfortable  when  dry,  but  if  once  wetted 
and  frozen  again,  in  the  winter  anord  as  little  protec- 
tion to  the  hands  as  p*  case  of  ice  would  do.    In  sum- 
mer, and  in  fishing,  excellent  seal-skin  mittens  are  used, 
and  have  the  same  power  of  resisting  water  as  the 
boots  of  which  I  have  just  spoken.    At  Igloolik,  on  our 
first  arrival,  we  found  a  few  pair  of  fingeT:ed  gloves, 
rery  neatly  made.    The  dresses  1  have  }mt  described 
are  chiefly  used  in  winter.    During  the  summer  it  is 


■  t 


\f 


4 

4 


$\ 


I  Mr  * 


1.1    ■^'' 


5'   .1 


£28 


DRESS  AITD  OBNAMENTS 


customary  to  wear  coat,  boots,  and  even  breechc^ 
composed  of  the  prepared  skms  of  ducks,  with  the 
feathers  next  the  body.  These  are  comfortable,  light, 
and  easily  prepared.  When  we  first  became  acquaint- 
ed with  the  dilferent  parties  of  natives,  and  before  they 
had  received  presents  from  us,  we  found  A^  the  few 
ornaments  in  their  possession  were  wornVrthe  men. 
These  were  some  bandeaus  which  encircled  the  head, 
and  were  composed  of  various  coloured  leather,  plaited 
in  a  mosaic  pattern,  and  in  some  cases  having  humaQ 
hair  woven  in  them  as  a  contrast  to  the  white  skins. 
From  the  lower  edge  foxes'  teeth  hung  suspended,  ar- 
ranged as  a  fringe  across  the  forehead.  In  different 
parts  of  the  hair  several  wore  a  musk-ox  tooth,  a  small 
ivory  figure,  or  the  bone  of  some  small  animal. 

The  clothing  of  the  womeL  is  of  the  same  materials 
as  that  of  the  men,  but  in  shape  almost  every  part  is 
different  from  the  male  dress.  An  inner  jacket  is  worn 
next  the  skm,  and  the  fur  of  the  other  is  outside.  The 
hind  flap  or  tail  is  of  the  form  before  described,  but 
there  is  also  a  small  flap  in  front,  extending  about  half 
way  down  the  thigh.  The  coats  have  each  an  immense 
hood,  which,  as  well  as  covering  the  head,  answers 
the  purpose  of  a  child's  cradle  for  two  or  three  years 
after  the  birth  of  an  infant.  This  is  called  amft-66-ta, 
and  is  the  same  as  the  amaut  of  Crantz.  In  order  to 
keep  the  burden  of  the  child  from  drawing  the  dress 
tight  across  the  throat,  a  contrivance,  in  a  great  mea- 
sure resembling  the  slings  of  a  soldier's  knapsack,  is 
affixed  to  the  collar  or  neck  part,  whence  it  passes  be-* 
neath  the  amaoota,  crosses,  and  being  brought  under 
the  arms,  is  secured  on  each  tide  the  breast  by  a 
wooden  button.  The  shoulders  of  the  women's  coat 
have  a  wide  bag-like  space,  for  which  we  were  long  j 
unable  to  account ;  but  it  was  at  length  ascertained  to  be 
for  the  purpose  of  facilitating  the  removal  of  the  chilo 
from  the  hood  round  to  the  breast  without  taking  it  out  { 
of  the  jacket. 

When  a  girdle  is  worn  round  the  waist,  it  answers  I 
the  double  purposes  of  comfort  and  ornament;  being 


OF  THE  E8K1MAVX. 


329 


en  breccbc^, 
cks,  with  the 
ortable,  light, 
;ame  acquaint- 
Qd  before  they 
(1  ^t  the  few 
•n Wthe  men. 
•cled  the  head, 
eather,  plaited 
having  human 
he  white  skins. 
suspended,  ar- 
d.     In  different 
X  tooth,  a  small 
animal, 
same  materials 
;  every  part  is 
r  jacket  is  worn 
[s  outside.    The 
i  described,  but 
nding  about  half 
kach  an  immense 
i  head,  answers 
0  or  three  years 
ailed  amft-66-ta, 
z.     In  order  to 
awing  the  dress 
in  a  great  mea- 
jr'8  knapsack,  is 
[nee  it  passes  be-* 
ig  brought  under 
;he  breast  by  a 
le  women's  coat 
ch  we  were  long 
[ascertained  to  be 
icalofthechila 
lOut  taking  it  out  I 

I  waist,  it  answers 
)rnament ;  being 


frequently  compoied  of  some  valuable  trinkets,  such  at 
foies^  bones,  those  of  the  kableeaghioo,  or  some  times 
of  the  ears  of  deers,  which  hang  in  pairs  to  the  num- 
ber of  twenty  or  thirty,  and  are  trophies  of  the  skill  of 
the  hunter,  to  whom  the  wearer  is  allied.  The  inex- 
pressibles of  the  women  are  of  the  same  form  as  those 
of  the  men,  but  they  are  not  ornamented  by  the  same 
curious  arrangement  of  colours  ;  the  front  part  is  gene- 
rally of  white,  and  the  back  of  dark  fur.  The  manner 
of  securing  them  at  the  waist  is  also  the  same;  but  the 
drawing-strings  are  of  much  greater  strength,  being 
suffered  to  hang  down  by  one  side,  and  their  ends  are 
frequently  ornamented  with  some  pendent  jetvel,  such 
as  a  grinder  or  two  of  the  musk-ox,  a  piece  of.  carved 
ivory,  a  small  ball  of  wood,  or  a  perforated  stone. 

The  boots  of  the  fair  sex  are,  without  dispute,  the 
most  extraordinary  part  of  their  equipment,  and  are  of 
such  an  immense  size  as  to  resemble  leather  sacks,  and 
to  give  a  most  deformed,  and,  at  the  same  time,  ludi- 
c.ous  appearance  to  the  whole  figure :  the  bulky  part 
being  at  the  knee,  the  upper  end  is  formed  into  a 
pointed  flap,  which,  covering  the  front  of  the  thigh,  is 
I  secured  by  a  button  or  knot  within  the  waistband  of  the 
I  breeches. 

Som'e  of  these  ample  articles  of  apparel  are  compos- 
I  ed  with  considerable  taste,  of  various  coloured  skins ; 
I  they  aho  have  them  of  parchment  seals*  leather.  Two 
Ipair  are  worn  ;  and  the  feet  have  also  a  pair  of  seal- 
skin slippers,  which  fit  close,  and  are  tightly  tied  round 
Ithe  a''  kle. 

Children  haves  no  kipd  of  clothing,  but  lie  naked  in 
Itbeir  mothers*  hoods  until  two  or  three  years  of  age, 
■when  they  are  stuffed  into  a  little  dress,  generally  of 
Yiwn-skin,  which  has  jacket  and  breeches  in  one,  the 
ck  part  being  open ;  into  this  they  are  pushed,  when 
I  string  or  two  closes  all  up  again.  A  cap  forms  an  in- 
lispensable  part  of  the  equipment,  and  is  generally  of 
me  fantastical  shape :  the  skin  of  a  f&wn's  head  is  » 
avourite  material  in  the  composition,  and  is  sometin^es 
een  with  the  ears  perfect ;  the  nose  and  holes  for  the 
20 


W' 


•230 


DRESS  AND  ORNAMENTS 


I   ',■■ 


<■      ■!  - 


' ;  ?i 


vC^ 


,^-' 


eyes  lying  along  the  crown  of  the  wearer's  head,  which, 
in  consequence,  looks  like  that  of  an  animal. 

Although  by  necessity  and  habit  an  extremely  dirty 
people,  the  Eskimaiix  appear  fully  aware  of  the  truth 
of  a  well-known  saying,  and  practically  show  that  '^  a 
stitch  in  time''  does  wonders ;  for,  however  old  or  worn 
.their  dresses  may  be,  it  is  rarely  that  ragged  clothes 
■are  seen. 

Our  woollen  jackets,  shirts,  or  stockings,  were  very 
highly  esteemed  ;  and  though  not  a  tenth  part  so  warm 
as  the  skin  coverings,  yet  always  had  the  credit  with 
the  Eskimaux  of  being  much  more  comfortable  than 
those  ;  the  poor  creatures,  who  wore  them  generally 
outside  their  proper  dress,  ascribing  all  the  warmth 
they  felt  to  the  Kabloona  cloth.  In  this  way  I  have 
seen  a  thin  cotton  shirt  placed  over  two  coats,  while 
the  happy  wearer  exclaimed  with  deligjt  that  '^it 
made  him  quite  hot.'' 

While  speaking  of  the  ornaments  of  the  Eskimaux,  I 
must  not  omit  the  manner  of  dressing  the  hair.  The 
men  generally  cut  it  square  across  the  forehead,  leav- 
ing the  side  locks  as  long  as  they  will  grow,  and  some- 1 
times  these  are  nearly  two  feet  in  length  :  such  as  have 
the  hair  long  all  over  the  head  tie  up  the  tresses  which 
would  otherwise  hang  over  the  face  in  a  large  knot  or 
bunch,  which  has  an  odd  appearance,  projecting  from  the 
forehead.  The  young  laen  are  in  the  habit  of  cllppingj 
the  crown  quite  close ;  but  all  have  the  greatest  par- 
tiality for  the  side  hair.  The  women  have  but  oDel 
way  of  arranging  their  very  long  black  locks,  which  isl 
by  dividing  them  neatly  in  the  centre  of  the  head,  andl 
arranging  them  on  each  side  in  the  shape  of  a  mightyl 
pigtail,  which  has  a  piece  of  wood  or  bone  for  a  stiffe-f 
ner ;  round  this  the  hair  is  secured  by  a  binding  od 
thongs  of  skin  with  the  fur  on,  so  as  ^to  form  a  prettj| 
spiral  pattern,  and  the  end  of  the  lock  is  made  to  forn 
a  kind  of  rose  at  the  bottom.  This,  as  with  otheil 
parts  of  the  costume,  differs  materially  from  the  arj 
rangement  of  the  hair  of  the  Hudson's  Strait  womeol 
vrho,  as  I  have  already  stated,  tie  it  in  one  large  buDCi 


'-'f  I 


OF  TIIG  ESKIMAVX. 


231 


OH  the  crown  of  the  head,  as  is  aUo  done  by  the  Ic- 
tnnles  of  Greenland.  »  ^, 

Occupations  of  women. — Before  I  ^ct  the  Indies  id 
work,  it  mny  be  as  well  to  premise,  that  in  sittinp^  tlieir 
iL'ct  urc  bent  under  the  thighs,  8o  that  the  womiin,  in 
fact,  rests  between  her  own  legs,  as  is  the  custom  with 
the  Arab  and  negro  females. 

Under  the  head  of  cookery,  I  shall  here  introduce 
the  diiTerent  modes  of  striking  a  light,  of  which  there 
are  two.  The  one  in  general  use,  however,  is  per- 
I'ormcd  by  two  pieces  of  iron  pyrites,  which,  by  a  for- 
cible blow,  give  out  a  few  sparks ;  these  are  received 
on  some  dry  moss  kept  in  nn  oval  ]);ul-shapod  bag,  hav- 
ing u  square  opening  on  one  side.  The  second  method 
is  by  friction,  but  I  found  no  particular  instance  of  its 
lieing  resorted  to  ;  and  the  man  who  showed  me  the 
manner  of  doing  it  only  learnt  it  from  his  father,  who 
had  seen  it  done  "a  long  way  to  the  southward." 

The  women,  besides  making  the  clothes  for  them- 
selves, their  husbands,  and  children,  have  also  to  pre- 
pare the  materials.  The  hunter  conceives  that  he  has 
doae  his  duty  in  killing  the  animals,  whose  skins  arc  to 
be  dressed,  and  therefore  does  not  offer  the  slightest 
assistance  in  preparing  them.  Whenever  his  boots  or 
dress  become  wet,  the  wife  scrapes  the  water  from 
them,  rubs  and  sup>  ^es  the  leather,  and  dries  them  over 
the  lamp.  Should  the  boots,  shoes,  or  gloves  of  parch- 
ment seal  skin  become  stiff  by  being  laid  aside  for  a 
time,  they  are  then  chewed  until  soft  by  the  women 
and  girls.  In  preparing  skins,  great  part  of  the  fat  and 
oil  is  first  sucked  from  them,  they  are  then  repeatedly 
scraped  and  rubbed  between  the  hands,  and  in  summer 
are  stretched  by  pegs  on  the  ground :  in  winter  they 
are  laced  over  a  hoop,  and  exposed  to  the  heat  of  the 
lamps.  When  deer  skins  are  prepared  so  as  to  resem- 
ble shamoy  leather,  the  only  preparation,  after  the 
usual  scraping  and  drying,  is  by  chewing,  rubbing  be- 
I  tween  the  hands,  and  ultimately  scrubbing  with  .sand 
and  urine:  while  damp,  a  second  scraping  is  given, 
and  on  drying,  the  skin  assumes  a  beautiful  {^pearance. 


■  i 
I  ' 


2S2 


CANOES,  SLEDGES,  WEAFOX S. 


t\<  "'J 


The  women  prepare  bird  skins  also  by  sacking  and 
drying^;  they  make  whalebone  pots,  ivory  ornaments, 
gear  for  bows,  fishing  lines,  harness  for  dogs,  &c.  &c. 
They  also  have  an  ingenious  method  of  making  lamps 
and  cooking-pots  of  flat  slabs  of  stone,  which  they  ce- 
ment* together  by  a  composition  of  seaPs  blood  appli- 
^  warm,  the  vessel  being  held  at  the  same  time  over 
the  flame  of  a  lamp,  which  dries  the  plaster  to  the 
hardness  of  a  stone.     Were  1  to  attempt  enumerating 
all  the  instances  of  ingenuity  in  these  women,  I  should 
fail  to  express  them  properly,  and  shall  therefore  bor- 
row the  words  of  the  accurate  Crantz,  who  says,  vol.  1. 
p.  164,  "  The  women  perform  the  offices  of  butchers, 
cooks,  tanners,  sempstresses,  tailors,  and  shoe-makers, 
furnished  only  with  a  crooked  knife,  in  the  shape  of  a 
crescent,  several  lai^e  and  small-  needles,  a  thimble  (of 
leather,^  and  their  own  teeth,  with  which  the>  stretch 
the  leather  in  tanning  and  currying." 

Canoes^  sledges,  weapons.— I  have  already  given  a  de 
scription  of  the  oo-roiak,  or  women's  boat,  of  the  Eski- 
maux  of  Hudson's  Strait,  anticipating  that  such  vessels 
might  not  be  used  by  the  natives  to  the  north-west- 
ward. My  conjectures  on  this  point  proved  well-found- 
ed, this  tribe  having  no  other  boats  than  the  kayak. 
The  man's  boat  difiers  but  little  from  those  we  saw  at 
the  Savage  Islands,  and  the  variety  only  consists  in 
having  a  longer  peak  to  the  stem,  and  one  at  the  stern, 
which  turns  a  little  upwards.  The  rim  round  the  hole 
tn  which  the  rower  sits  is  also  rather  different^  having 
the  front  part  something  higher  than  the  back ;  where- 
as the  first  canoes  we  saw  had  all  their  rims  of  an 
equal  height,  and  were  round  like  hoops.  This  part 
was  edged  very  neatly  with  ivory,  but  at  Igloolik  there 
was  no  such  ornament. 

The  peculiar  shape  of  the  canoes  may  be  conceived 
from  the  above  account;  hue  the  dimensions  of  one 

*  Thii  cement  is  composed  of  seafs  bloody  of  whitish  clay,  and 
of  dog*8  hair.  The  natives  fancy  that  the  hair  of  a  female  dog 
would  spoil  th«  composition,  and  prevent  it  sticking. 


GANOES. 


233 


may  serve  as  a  description  of  all  the  rest  *  It  may  be 
that  some  differ  in  length,  but  in  width  or  form  they 
are  the  same.  The  head  and  stern,  if  they  may  be  so 
called,  are  equally  sharp,  and  the  whole  body  of  the 
vessel  has  been  very  justly  compared  in  shape  with  a 
weaver^s  shuttle.  The  ribs,  of  which  there  are  sixty 
or  seventy,  are  made  of  ground  willow,  small  bones, 
whalebone,  or  if  it  can  be  procured,  of  good  grained 
wood.  The  whole  oontrivance  does  not  weigh  above 
50  or  60  lbs.,  so  that  a  man  easily  carries  his  kayak  on 
his  head,  which,  by  the  form  of  the  rim,  he  can  do 
without  the  assistance  of  his  hands. 

An  Eskimaux  prides  himself  in  the  neat  appearance 
of  bis  boat,  and  has  a  warm  skin  placed  in  its  bottom  to 
sit  on.  His  posture  is  with  the  legs  pointed  forward, 
and  be  cannot  change  his  position  unless  with  the  aS' 


■*-->itx^ 


I.Eir6TH. 


Body 

Stem  projection 

Stern  projection 


Total'' 


Ft.  In. 

19  0 

3  2 

2  10 

25  0 


I?:.  }■ 


ui-  ; 


m  ii 


Abaft  the  hole    - 
I  Before  it      - 

Rim  in  front       - 
Rim  behind 
ireadth  at  centre 
Depth  at  the  same  place 
Circumference  of  rim 


HSIGHT. 


8 
9 


0 
1 


0  10 

0  lS-4 

1  9 
0  10 
5  1 


A  flat  piece  of  vrtod  runs  along  each  side  of  the  frame,  and  is 
lis  fact  the  only  piece  of  any  stiength  in  the  kayak.  Its  depth  in  the 
I  centre  it  four  or  five  inches,  and  its  thickness  about  three-fourths  of 
Ian  inch :  it  tapers  to  a  point  at  the  c««mroencement  of  the  stem  and 
Istero  projections.  Sixty-four  ribs  are  fastened  to  this  gunwale 
[piece :  seven  slight  rods  run  the  whole  length  of  the  bottom  and 
loulside  the  ribs.  The  bottom  is  rounded,  and  has  no  keel :  twenty* 
Itwo  litlle  beams,  or  cross  pieces,  keep  the  frame  on  a  stretch  above  ; 
and  one  strong  batten  runs  along  the  centre,  from  stem  to  stern,  be» 
pDg  of  course  discontinued  at  the  seat  part. 

The  padiile  is  double  bladed,  nine  feet  three  inches  in  lengthy 
laall  at  the  jsra'P,  and  widening  to  four  inches  at  the  blades,  which 
be  tbip^  and  e^ed  with  ivory  for  strength  as  well  as  o^pameo). 


fd4 


DESCRIPTIOir  07 


I, 


sistance  of  another  person :  in  all  cases  where  a  weight 
is  to  be  lifted,  aa  alteration  of  stowage,  or  any  move- 
ment  to  be  made,  it  is  customary  for  two  kayaks  to  lie 
t(^ether  j  tand  the  p3ddl6  of  each  being  placed  across 
the  other,  they  form  a  steady  double  boat.  These 
Eskimaux  have  not  the  art  of  turning  their  boat  over, 
find  recovering  themselves  by  a  skilful  management  of 
the  paddle,  under  water,  like  the  Greenlanders.  An 
inflated  seaPs  bladder  forms,  invariably,  part  of  the 
equipage  of  a  canoe,  and  the  weapons  are  confined  in 
their  places  by  sn&all  linee  uf  whalebone,  stretched 
tightly  across  the  upper  covering,  so  as  to  receive  the 
points  or  handles  of  the  spears  benoath  them.  Flesh 
is  frequently  stowed  within  the  stem  or  stem,  as  are 
also  birds  and  eg^ ;  but  a  seal,  although  round,  and 
easily  made  to  roll,  is  so  neatly  balanced  on  the  upper 
part  of  the  boat  as  seldom  to  require  a  lashing.  When 
the  Eskimaux  are  not  paddling,  their  balance  must  hi 
nicely  preserved,  and  a  trembling  motion  is  always  ot 
servable  in  the  boat. 

The  most  difficult  position  for  managing  a  kayak,  is 
when  going  before  the  wind,  and  with  a  little  swell 
running.  Any  inattention  would  instantly,  by  eiposing 
the  broadside,  overturn  this  frail  vessel.  The  dexten- 
ty  with  which  they  are  turned,  the  velocity  of  their 
way,  and  the  extreme  elegance  of  form  of  the  kayaks, 
renders  an  Eskimaux  an  object  of  the  highest  interest  I 
when  sitting  independently,  and  urging  his  course  to*  [ 
wards  his  prey. 

The  next  object  of  importance  to  the  boat  is  the 
sledge,  which  finds  occupation  during  at  least  three- 
fourths  of  the  year.     A  man  who  possesses  both  this  I 
and  a  canoe  is  considered  a  person  of  property.    To 
give  a  particular  description  of  the  sledge  would  be 
impossible,  as  there  are  no  two  actually  alike;  and  the 
materials  of  which  they  are  composed  are  as  variowl 
as  their  form.     The  best  are  made  of  the  jaw-booeB  of| 
the  whale,  sawed  to  about  two  inches  in  thickness,  and 
in  depth  from  six  inches  to  a  foot.    These  are  the  ran* 
ners,  and  are  shod  with  a  thin  plank  of  the  same  n»-| 


V  •" 


WEAPONS. 


236 


bete  a  weight 
or  any  move- 
kayaks  to  He 
placed  across 
boat.    These 
eir  boat  over, 
nanagement  of 
enlanders.    An 
jr,  part  of  the 
ire  confined  in 
>oae,  stretched 
I  to  receive  the 
k  them.    Flesh 
r  stern,  as  are 
ugb  round,  and 
ed  on  the  upper 
lashing.    When  g 
balance  must  bt 
ion  is  always  o\ 

ging  a  kayak,  is 
|tb  a  little  swell 
atly,  by  exposing 
I.  The  dexteri- 
velocity  of  their 
[D  of  the  kayaks, 
highest  interest  i 
his  course  to- 

the  boat  is  the 
^  at  least  three- 
Issesses  both  this 
y  property.    To 
sledge  would  be 
jly  alike;  and  the 
Id  are  as  varions 
the  jaw-hones  of 
in  thickness,  and' 
[hese  are  the  run- 
of  the  same  bb*-! 


t«rial:  the  side  pieces  are  connected  by  means  of 
bones,  pieces  of  wood,  or  deers'  horns,  lashed  across 
with  a  few  inches  space  between  each,  and  they  yield 
to  any  great  strain  which  the  sledge  may  receive.  The 
general  breadth  of  the  upper  part  of  the  sledge  it 
about  twenty  inches,  but  the  runners  lean  inwards,  and 
therefore  at  bottom  it  is  rather  greater.     The  length  of 
bone    sledges  is  from  four  feet  to  fourteen.    Their 
weight  is  necessarily  great ;  and  one  of  moderate  size, 
that  is  to  say,  about  ten  or  twelve  feet,  was  found  to 
be  217lbs.    The  skin  of  the  walrus  is  very  commonly 
nsed  during  the  coldest  part  of  the  winter,  as  being 
hard  frozen,  and  resembling  an  inch  board,  with  ten 
times  the  strength,  for   runners.     Another  ingenious 
contrivance  is,  by  casing  moss  and  earth  in  seaPs  skin, 
80  that  by  pouring  a  little  water,  a  round  hard  bolster 
is  easily  formed.     Across  all  these  kinds  of  rtnners 
there  is  t^e  same  arrangement  of  bones^  sticks,  &c.  on 
he  upper  part;  and  the  surface  whicii  passes  over 
the  snow  is  coated  with  ice,   by  mixing  snow  with 
fresh  water,  which  asiusts  greatly  in  lightening  the  load 
for  the  dogs,  as  it  sliders  forwards  with  ease.    We  some- 
times saw  a  person  who  had  but  one  or  two  dogs,  driv- 
ing in  a  little  tray  made  of  a  rough  piece  of  walrus 
hide,  br  a  flat  slab  of  ice,  hollowed  like  a  bowl.     Boys 
frequently  amuse  themselves  by  yoking  several  dogs 
to  a  small  piece  of  seal's  skin,  and  sitting  on  it,  holding 
by  the  traces.    Their  plan  is  then  to  set  off  at  full 
speed ;  and  he  who  bears  the  greatest  number  of  humps 
before  he  relinquishes  bis  hold,  is  considered  a  very 
fine  fellow. 

Spears. — There  are  various  kinds  of  spears,  but  their 
difference  is  chiefly  in  consequence  of  the  substances 
of  which  they  are  composed,  and  not  in  their  general 
form.  A  want  of  proper  materials  has  been  the  means 
I  of  restricting  the  northern  tribes  to  few  varieties;  but 
1  shall  describe  those  we  procured  in  Hudson's  Strait 
collectively  with  others  obtained  at  Igloolik.  The 
principal  spears  are  four  in  ntunber,  and  are  as  fol> 


I!'.    ! 


UN 


\m: 


lows: 


mi^  i<tmmp^ 


636 


^£AFoirs. 


i  I  , 


K&-te-Ieek,  which  is  a  large  and  stroog-handled  spear, 
with  an  ivorj  point  for  despatching  any  wounded  ani- 
mal in  the  water.  It  is  neyer  thrown,  but  has  a  place 
appropriated  for  it  on  the  kayak,  and  is  .seldom  seen 
amongst  the  northern  tribes. 

Akiiak,  or  oonak.  A  lighter  kind  than  the  former; 
also  ivory  headed.  It  has  a  bladder  fastened  to  it,  and 
has  a  loose  head  with  a  line  attached  ;  this  being  dart- 
ed into  an  animal,  is  instantly  liberated  frv/m  the  han- 
dle which  gives  the  impetus.  Some  few  of  these  wea- 
pons were  constructed  of  the  solid  ivory  of  the  unicorn's 
Ikorn,  about  four  feet  in  length,  and  remarkably  well 
rounded  and  polished.  These  were  seen  at  Igloolik 
only  t  ivory  being  more  easily  attainable  than  wood, 
or  bone  of  the  whalers  ribs,  which  is  al^o  used. 

Ip-poo-too-yoo,  is  another  kind  of  hand-spear,  vary- 
ing but  little  from  the  one  last  described.  It  has,  how- 
ever, no  appendages. 

Noogh-wit.  This  is  of  two  kinds,  but  both  are  used 
for  striking  birds,  young  animals,  or.  fish.  The  first  has 
a  double  fork  at  the  extremity,  and  there  are  three 
other  barbed  ones  at  about  half  its  length,  diverging  in. 
different  directions,  so  that  if  the  end  pair  should  miss, 
some  of  the  centre  ones  might  strike.  The  second 
kind  has  only  three  barbed  forks  at  the  head.  All  the 
points  are  of  ivory,  and  the  natural  curve  of  the  walrua 
tusk  favours  and  facilitates  their  construction. 

The  whole  of  the  above  weapons  are  described  bj 
Crantz  under  the  same  names,  as  being  used  by  the 
Greenlanders.  There  is,  however,  an  instrument  of 
which  I  believe  he  gives  no  account,  as  probably  it 
does  not  exist  there.  It  is  a  kind  of  nippers  called 
kfck'ke-way,  which  are  used  in  taking  salmon,  and  even 
smaller  fish.  When  sealing  on  the  ice,  spare  khiat-kos 
and  lines  are  taken,  and  the  panna  and  oonak  are  the 
Miiy  weapons  "^^'he  others  are  merely  carried  on  the  i 
kayak.  A  larj^e  inflated  aeaPs  skin  or  bladder  is  used, 
with  a  khiat-ko  attached  to  it,  In  wearying  a  whale,] 
onicom,  or  walrus,  and  is  called  awataak. 
Amongst  the  minor  instruments  of  the  ice-buntiag  I 


:>ow8. 


237 


landled  spear, 

wounded  ani- 

it  has  a  place 

seldom  seen 

a  the  former; 
ened  to  it,  and 
his  heing  dart- 
frwDft  the  han- 
r  of  these  wea- 
)f  the  unicorn's 
markahly  well 
Ben  at  IglooUk 
ble  than  wood, 
po  used* 
nd-spear,  Tary- 
J.     It  has,  how- 

at  both  are  used 
t.  The  first  has 
here  are  three 
th,  diverging  in. 
)air  should  miss, 
B.  The  second 
B  head.  All  the 
je  of  the  walrus 
uction. 

re  described  by 
Log  used  by  the 
Q  instrument  of 

as  probably  it 

nippers  called 
[salmon,  and  even 

spare  khiat-kos 
u  oonak  are  the 
ly  carried  on  the 

bladder  is  used, 

aryinga  whale,| 

lak. 
the  Ice-buntiag 


are  a  long  bone  feeler  for  plumbing  any  cracks  through 
which  seals  are  suspected  of  breathing,  and  also  for 
trying  the  safety  of  the  road.  Another  contrivance  is 
occasionally  used  with  the  same  effect  as  the  float  of  a 
fishing  line.  Its  purpose  is  to  warn  the  hunter  who  is 
watching  a  seal  hole,  when  the  animal  rises  to  the  sur- 
face, so  that  he  may  strike  without  seeing,  or  being 
seen  by  his  prey.  This  is  a  most  delicate  Uttie  rod  of 
bone  or  ivory,  of  about  a  foot  in  length,  and  the  thick- 
ness of  a  due  knitting-needle.  At  the  lower  end  is  a 
small  knob  like  a  pin^s  head,  and  ihe  upper  extremity 
has  a  fine  piece  of  sinew  tied  to  it,  so  as  to  fasten 
it  loosely  to  the  side  of  the  hole.  The  animal  en  ris- 
ing does  not  perceive  so  small  an  object  hanging  in  the 
water,  and  pushes  it  up  with  his  nose,  when  the  watch- 
Ifal  Eskimaux  observing  his  little  beacon  in  motion, 
I  strikes  down,  and  secures  his  prize. 

Small  ivory  pegs  or  pins  are  used  to  stop  the  holes 
I  made  by  the  spears  in  the  animal-s  body;  thus  the 
{blood,  a  great  luxury  to  the  natives,  is  saved. 

Bow  and  arrows. — The  same  want  of  wood  which 
[renders  it  necessary  to  find  substitutes  in  the  construc- 
doD  of  spears,  also  occasions  the  great  variety  of  bows. 
I  The  horn  of  the  musk  ox,  thinned  horns  of  deer,  or  ^. 
lother  bony  substances,  are  as  freq'^ently  used  or  met  ^ 
Iwith,  as  wood  in  the  manufacture  r  these  weapons,  in 
Iwhich  elasticity  is  a  very  secondary  consideration. 
|Three«or  four  pieces  of  horn  or  wood  are  frequently 
Ijolaed  together  in  one  bow, — the  strength  lying  alone 
lia  a  vast  cbllection  of  small  plaited  sinews ;  these,  to 
[the  number  of  perhaps  a  hundred,  run  down  the  back 
of  the  bow,  and  being  quite  tight,  and  having  the  spring 
of  catgut,  cause  the  weapon,  when  unstrung,  to  turn 

be  wrong  way  :  when  bent,  their  united  strength  and 
jeiasticity  are  amazing.  The  bow-string  is  of  fifteen  or 
[wenty  plaits,  each  loose  from  the  other,  but  twisted 

ound  when  in  use,  so  that  a  few  additional  turns  will 
lit  any  time  alter  its  length.  The  general  length  of 
Ihe  bows  is  about  three  feet  and  a  half. 

The  arrows  are  short,  light,  and  formed  accordiD|f 


r-S 


II 


I 


S34 


HUNTIXG  Oir  THE   IC£. 


%U':^ 


t!i 


lo  no  general  rule  as  to  lenglh  ':  thickness.  A  gbod 
one  has  !.alf  the  shaft  of  bene,  and  a  head  of  hard  slate, 
or  a  small  piece  of  iron  ;  others  have  sharply  pointed 
bone  heads  :  none  are  barbed.  Two  feathers  are  used 
for  the  end,  and  are  tied  opposite  each  other  with  the 
flat  sides  parallel.  A  neatly  formed  case  contains  the 
bow  and  a  few  arrows :  seal's  skin  is  preferred  for  this 
purpose,  as  more  effectually  resisting  the  wet  than  any 
other.  A  little  bag,  which  is  attached  to  the  side,  con- 
tains a  stone  for  sharpening,  and  some  spare  arrow- 
heads carefully  wrapped  up  in  a  piece  of  sKaO. 

The  bow  is  held  in  a  horizontal  position,  and  though 
capable  of  great  force,  is  rarely  used  at  a  greater  dis- 
tance than  from  twelve  to  twenty  yards. 

The  peculiar  term  by  which  the  search  for  sea  ani- 
Dials  is  distinguished,  is  ma-ook-pok  ;  but  the  severity 
of  the  climate  prevented  our  people  from  seeing  any 
regular  chase ;  and  as  we  could  only  judge  from  re- 
port, and  from  the  expressive  pantomimic  description  I 
of  the  natives,  I  cannot  pretend  to  offer  any  connected  { 
account  on  this  subject.  -uff  C  m.-; 

Where  the  ice  is  of  sufficient  strength  to  bear  a  par- 
ticular form,  the  breathing-places  of  seals  bear  grealj 
resemblance  to  mole-hills,  and  have  a  small  crack  inf 
the  upper  part.  By  this  kind  of  mound  the  hunterl 
stands,  and  listens  until  he  hears  tho  animal  breathing,! 
which  assures  him  that  the  place  is  tenanted,  and  hisl 
operations  commence  accordingly.  On  striking,  thel 
first  care  is  to  catch  the  line  b^^hind  one  leg,  so  as  tol 
act  as  a  strong  check  ;  and  for  farther  security,  n  hitclil 
is  also  taken  round  the  ring  firiger,  which  sometimes!/ 
terribly  lacerated,  and  even  iornoff  by  the  struggles  o| 
a  large  animal.  The  spear  being  at  liberty,  is  non 
used  to  stab  the  seal  until  it  dies,  and  the  hole  beiu^ 
enlarged,  it  is  drawn  out  on  the  ice.  The  carcasi 
gpeedily  freezes,  and  is  then  ut  to  be  drawn  home  toj 
the  huts.  The  walrus  is  occasionally  taken  in  the  sama 
manner  f  but  it  is  only  when  he  has  no  open  water  tij 
range  in,  that  he  is  found  under  young  ice.  The  ge 
0erai  manner  of  striking  him  is  when,  he  rises  amongsl 


METHOD  OF  KIXLIXG  tTALRUS. 


«39 


less.    A  gbod 
\  of  hard  slate, 
larply  pointed 
ahers  are  used 
other  with  the 
le  contains  the 
eferrcd  for  this 
e  wet  than  any 
to  the  side, con- 
i  spare  arrow- 
of  sU«o. 

tion,  and  though 
I  a  greater  dis- 

iS. 

an  h  for  sea  ani- 
but  the  severity 
from  seeing  any 
judge  from  re- 
limic  description 
er  any  cennected 

rth  to  bear  a  par- 
seals  bear  greai 
a  small  crack  in 
ound  the  hunter 
inimal  breathing, 
[enanted,  and  Im 
On  striking,  the 
one  leg,  so  as  to 
.security,  a  hitclj 
hich  sometimes  i^ 
y  the  struggles  ol 
t  liberty,  is  noTi 
,d  the  hole  beia| 

,e.     The  carcass 
drawn  home  ti 

taken  in  the  sami 
Ino  open  water  ti 
ng  icG.    The  p 

he  rises  amongs 


loose  heavy  pieces  of  ice,  which  are  moving  under  the 
influence  of  wind  or  tide.     If  two  or  three  men  are  to- 
gether, the  operation  is  comparatively  easy ;  but  we 
have  many  accounts  of  unfortunate  persons  who  have 
been  drawn  under  the  ice  and  drowned,  owing  to  inse- 
cure footing;  or  an  entangled  line.   The  animals  caught 
amongst  the  young  or  moving  ice,  and  in  those  places 
where  particularly  favourable  or  the    contrary,  are 
three :  the  walrus,  trichicus  rosmarus  of  Linnaeus,  or 
ay-wek  of  the  Kskimaux.     Large  bearded  seal,  p.  bar- 
bata,  of  Linnaeus,  or  o6-ghioo  of  the  Eskimaux.     Small 
seal,  p.  vitellioa  of  Linnaeus,  or  net-yek  of  the  Eski- 
maux. i'%"?  ,n%'*  ■•"?..■    v>.  o  .fh'ji\  lytfxZi-j-ai^o 
One  method  of  killing  these  animals  in  the  summer 
is  ingenious.     When  the  hunters,  in  their  canoes,  per- 
ceive a  large  herd  sleeping  on  the  floating  ice,  as  is 
their  custom,  they  paddle  to  some  other  piece  near 
them,  which  is  small  enough  to  be  moved.     On  this 
they  lifl:  their  canoes,  and  then  bore  several  holes, 
through  which  they  fasten  their  tough  lines,  and  when 
every  thing  is  ready,  they  silently  paddle  the  hummock 
towards   their  prey,  each  man  sitting  by  bis  own   line 
»nd  spear.     In  this  manner  they  reach  the  'ce  on  which 
the  walruses  are  lying  snoring;  and  if  they  please^ 
each  man  may  strike  an  animal,  though,  in  general,' 
two  persons  attack  the  same  beast.     The  wounded  and 
startled  walrus  rolls  instantly  to  the  water,  but  theshat« 
ko,  or  harpoon,  being  well  fixed,  he  cannot  escape 
from  the  hummock  on  which  the  Eskimaux  have  fast- 
ened the  line.      When  the    animal  becomes  a  little 
weary,  the  hunter  launches  his  canoe,  and  lying  out  of 
his  reach,  spears  him  to  death. 

The  ooghioo  rises  occasionally  in  holes  at  no  great 
distance  from  the  edge  of  the  tield,  but  the  netyek  is 
fouad  many  miles  from  any  open  water.  The  latter, 
|therefore,  is  the  principal  and  only  certain  support 
during  the  greater  portion  of  the  severe  winter,  and  it 
imakes  a  perfectly  circular  hole,  by  which  it  rises  to 
breathe,  even  through  ice  many  feet  in  thickness. 
This  opening  it  keeps  contmually  cleared,  of  a  suffi* 


f 


1^ 


If  I 

ittt  s 


s  ■■■ 


fi4d 


BEARS. 


:l 


Vlij  ' 


J.  s 


'1*  '    ' 


cient  size  for  the  admission  of  its  body,  allowing  the 
(op  alone  to  freeze  partially  over.     It  is  thus  easily 
discovered  by  the  Eskimaux,  an  inhabited  bole  being 
always  distinguished  by  its  perfect  form.    The  process 
in  taking  seals  in  these  situations  is  rather  different 
from  the  way  of  killing  them  in  the  young  ice ;  and  I 
hi>vr  seen  what  I  believe  is  a  general  custom,  practised 
in  t'/o  ins^iances.     A  small  wall  of  slabs  of  snow  being 
raised  near  the  hole,  the  hunter  fits  within  it,  Diving 
previously  enlarged  the  seal-hole,  when  the  animal 
raises  its  head  and  shoulders  out  of  water,  with  )ut  fear. 
This  he  repeats  once  or  twice  with  increased  confi- 
dence, and  being  in  no  haste  to  dive  again,  the  hunter 
rises  suddenly,  and  throws  his  spear  into  him.     A  second 
way  is  by  covering  the  seal  hole  over  with  snow,  and 
then  putting  the  end  of  the  spear  through  it,  to  make 
an  opening  about  as  lai^e  as  the  neck  of  a  bottle.    The 
ipear  is  then   withdrawn.     The   hunter   mean-whiie 
having  a  wall  to  shelter  him  from  the  wind,  sits  quiet- 
ly on  a  snow  bench  near  the  hole,  and  having  his 
weapons  ready,  listens  attentively  until  he  hears  the 
seal  breathing  beneath  the  snow.    He  then  rises  with- 
out noise,  and  ^'ith  all  his  force  strikes  through  the 
light  snow,  gene  rally  with  success.     This  is  the  plan 
^  during  the  severe  and  dark  part  of  the  winter;  and  a  I 
poor  fellow  will  sometimes  sit  ten  or  twelve  hours  in  | 
this  manner,  at  a  temperature  of  30  or  40  degrees  be- 
low zero,  without  even  hearing  a  seal. 

It  would  be  needless  for  me  to  attempt  any  descrip- 1 
tion  of  the  Polar  bear. .  An  Eskimaux,  with  three  or 
four  dogs,  will  instantly  attack  one  of  these  animals  [ 
without  thinking  of  any  thing  but  the  capture  of  a  deli- 
cate meal}  and  a  good  skin  for  clothing.    The  dogs  no  I 
sooner  see  the  unwieldy  bear,  than  giving  tongue,  thej 
chase  and  keep  him  at  bay  until  their  master  comes 
up,  who  throws  the  khiatko  into  him,  if  he  Sndsa 
piece  of  ice  around  which  he  can  secure  the  line,  orl 
otherwise  darts  the  spear  alone  behind  the  shoulder.! 
He  then  trusts  entirely  to  his  own  activity  and  the 
spirit  of  his  dogs,  and  leaping  from  side  to  side,  avoids 


«   >t  DOGS* 


241 


,  allowing  the 

is  thus  easily 

ed  bole  being 

Tbe  process 

iither  different 

ung  ice ;  and  I 

Btoin,  practised 

of  ftnow  being 

ithin  it,  having  I 

len  the  animal 

jr,  with  )v>t  fear. 

increased  confi- 

rain,  the  hunter 

him.     A  second 

with  snow,  and 

ttugh  it,  to  make 

,f  a  bottle.    The 

iter  mean-while 

wind,  sits  quiet- 

and  having  his 

ktil  he  bears  the 

I  then  rises  with- 

kes  through  the 

This  is  the  plau 

le  winter;  and  a 

twelve  hours  in 

ir  40  degrees  be- 

|ropt  any  descrip- 
1,  with  three  or 
[of  these  animals 
capture  of  a  deli- 
|g.    The  dogs  no 
ring  tongue,  they 
ir  master  comes 
km,  if  he  Sods  a 
cure  tbe  line,  or 
ind  tbe  shoulder. 
(activity  and  the 
de  to  side,  avoids 


the  furious  opiings  of  the  wounded  animal.  If  the 
spear  drops  from  the  wound,  it  is  again  thrown,  and 
with  better  effect ;  but  if  it  holds,  the  dogs  attack  the 
animal's  legs,  and  the  man  rushes  on  with  his  panoa, 
and  despatches  his  enemy. 

The  females  which  have  their  young  cubs  with 
them,  are  far  more  to  be  dreaded  than  the  males, 
though  not  much  more  than  half  their  size.  An  Eski- 
maux  will,  however,  attack  the  mother  first,  and  after- 
wards kill  the  two  cubs,  even  when  nearly  as  large  as 
their  dam. 

Dogs. — These  useful  creatures  being  indispensable 
attendants  on  the  Eskimaux,  drawing  home  whatever 
captures  are  made,  as  well  as  frequently  carrying  their 
masters  to  the  chase,  I  know  of  no  more  proper  place 
to  introduce  them,  than  as  a  part  of  the  hunting  estab- 
lishment. Having  myself  possessed,  during  our  second 
winter,  a  team  of  eleven  very  fine  animals,  I  was  ena- 
bled to  become  better  acquainted  with  taeir  good  quali- 
ties than  could  possibly  have  been  the  case  by  the 
casual  visits  of  Eskimaux  to  the  ships. 

The  fonn  of  the  Eskimaux  dog  is  very  similai  to 
that  of  our  shepherd's  dogs  in  England,  but  he  is  more 
nuscular  and  broad  chested,  owing  to  the  constant  and 
severe  work  to  which  he  is  brought  up.  His  ears  are 
pointed,  and  the  aspect  of  the  head  is  somewhat  savage. 
Id  size  a  fine  d<^  is  about  the  height  of  the  Newfound- 
land breed,  but  broad  lik«  a  mastiff  in  every  part,  ex- 
cept the  nose.  The  hair  of  the  coat  is  in  summer,  as 
I  well  as  in  winter,  very  long,  but  during  the  cold  sea- 
sou,  a  soft  downy  under  covering  is  found,  which  doea 
lot  appear  in  warm  weather.  Young  dogs  are  put 
kto  harness  as  soon  as  they  can  walk,  and  being  tied 
vp,  soon  acquire  a  habit  of  pulling,  in  their  attempts 
|to  recover  their  liberty,  or  to  roam  in  quest  of  their 
lothers.  When  about  two  months  old,  they  are  put 
ito  the  sledge  with  the  grown  dogs,  and  sometimes 
»ght  or  ten  little  ones  are  under  the  charge  of  some 
sady  old  animal,  where  with  frequent,  and  sometimes 

lel  beatings,  they  iQcn  receive  a  competent  educa- 
2j 


f> 


1^' 


III 


p 


i  ^  V 


24d 


noes.  .^^ 


M  4 


m  '  ^M 1 


tioD.  Every  dog  if  distinguisbed  by  a  particular  name, 
and  tbe  angry  repetition  of  it  has  an  effect  as  infltaa- 
taneous  as  an  application  of  the  whip,  which  instrument 
is  of  an  immense  length,  having  a  lash  of  from  eighteen 
to  twenty-four  feet,  while  the  handle  is  of  one  foot 
only.  With  thir  j  by  throwing  it  on  one  side  or  the 
other  of  the  leader,  and  repeating  certain  words,  the 
animals  are  guided  or  stopped.  W&h-ayft,  a-yft,  whooft, 
to  the  right.  A-wha,  &-wna,  &-wbut,  to  the  left.  A- 
look,  turn,  and  w6o&,  stop.  When  the  sledge  is  stop* 
ped,  they  are  all  taught  to  lie  down,  by  throwing  the 
whip  gently  over  their  backs,  and  they  will  remain  in 
this  position  even  for  hours,  until  their  master  returns 
to  them. 

Such  of  the  natives  as  have  not  a  sufficient  number 
of  dogs  to  draw  a  sledge  are  followed  to  the  Maookpok 
by  all  which  belong  to  them.  A  walrus  is  frequently 
drawn  along  by  three  or  four  of  them,  and  seals  are 
sometimes  carried  home  in  the  same  manner,  though  1 
have,  in  some  instances,  seen  a  d<^  bring  home  tbe 
greater  part  of  a  seal  in  panniers  placed  across  his 
back.  This  mode  of  conveyance  is  oflen  used  in  tbe 
summer,  and  the  dogs  also  carry  skins  or  furniture 
overland  to  the  sledges,  when  their  masters  are  going 
OB  any  expedition. 

It  might  be  supposed  that  in  so  cold  a  climate  these  I 
animals  had  peculiar  periods  of  gestation,  like  the  wild 
creatures ;  but  on  the  contrary,  they  bear  young  at 
every  season  of  the  year,  and  seldom  exceed  five  at  a 
litter.  In  December,  with  the  thermometer  40°  below 
zero,  the  females  were,  in  several  instances,  in  heat. 
Cold  has  very  little  effect  on  these  animals,  for  r*  hough 
the  dogs  at  the  huts  slept  within  the  snow  passages,] 
mine  at  the  ships  had  no  shelter,  but  lay  alongside, 
with  the  thermometer  at  42°  and  44°,  and  with  as  little  | 
concern  as  if  tbe  weather  had  been  mild 

I  found  by  several  experiments,  that  three  of  myl 
dc^  could  draw  me  on  a  sledge,  weighing.  100lb8.,atl 
tbe  rate  of  one  mile  in  six  minutes ;  and  as  a  proof  ofl 
the  strength  of  41  well-grown  dog,  my  leader  drefl 


REIN-DEER. 


£43 


icnUr  name) 

ct  M  InstaD' 

h  iDStrument 

pom  eighteen 

of  one  foot 

side  or  the 

in  words,  the 

,a-yft»whooft, 

the  left.    A- 

jledge  ia  stop. 

throwing  the 

vill  remain  in 

master  retunw 

gcient  numhet 
the  Maookpok 
,s  l9  frequently 
and  seals  are 
anner,  though  1 
mng  home  the 
aced  across  his 
\wi  used  in  the 
M  or  furniture 
asters  are  going 


]961b8.  singly,  and  to  the  same  distance  in  eight  min- 
utes "  WhoeTer  has  had  the  patience  to  read  this  ac- 
count, will  laugh  at  my  introducing  my  team  so  fr«- 
qnentiy  in  a  professed  account  of  Eslcim^ux  dogs  gene- 
rally ;  but  I  can  only  oifer,  as  my  excuse,  the  merits  of 
my  poor  animals,  with  which  I  have  often,  with  one 
or  two  persons  besides  myself,  on  the  sledge,  returned 
home  from  the  Fury,  a  distance  of  near  a  mile,  in 
pitchy  darkness,  and  amidst  clouds  of  snow  drift,  en- 
tirely under  the  care  of  those  trusty  servants,  who., 
with  their  noses  down  to  the  snow,  have  gallopped  on 
board  entirely  directed  by  their  sense  of  smelling. 
Had  they  erred,  or  been  at  all  restive,  no  human  means 
could  have  brought  us  on  board  until  the  return  of  clear 
weather. 

Land  animals^  and  how  procured.- — I  shall  first  enu- 
merate such  creatures  as  are  procured  by  the  bow,  and 
amongfst  these  shall  include  birds  of  different  species. 

Of  the  form  of  the  rein-deer  it  is  unnecessary  for  me 
to  attempt  a  particular  description.  He  visits  the  polar 
regions  at  the  latter  end  of  May  or  the  early  part  of 
Jane,  and  remains  until  late  in  September.  On  his 
first  arrival  he  i»  thin,  and  his  flesh  is  tasteless,  but  the 
I  diort  summer  is  sufficient  to  fatten  him  to  two  or  three 
inches  on  the  haunches.  When  feeding  on  level  ground, 
an  Eskimaux  makes  no  attempt  to  approach  him,  but 
should  a  few  rocks  be  near,  the  wary  hunter  feels 
secure  of  his  prey.  Behind  one  of  these  he  cautious- 
ly creeps,  and  having  laid  himself  very  close,  with  his 
bow  and  arrow  before  him,  imitates  the  bellow  of  the 
met  when  calling  to  each  other.  Sometimes,  for  more 
[complete  deception,  the  hunter  wears  his  deer-skin 

*  At  another  time,  seven  of  my  dogs  ran  a  mile  in  four  minutes 
Ithirty  srcouds,  drawing  a  heavy  sledge  full  of  men.    I  stopped  to 
Itime  them ;  but  had  I  ridden  they  would  have  gone  equally  fast : 
lin  fact,  I  afterwards  found  that  ten  dogs  took  five  minutes  to  go 
|OTer  the  same  space.    Afterwards,  in  carrying  stores  to  the  Fury, 
one  mile  distant,  nine  dogs  drew  161  libs,  in  the  space  of  nine  mi- 
nutes !    My  sledge  was  on  wooden  runners,  neither  shod  nor  iced ;, 
I  they  been  the  latter,  at  least  401bs.  might  bare  been.a,d!]fid.fp^ 
Niydof. 


1^ 


a!'  ff 


244 


HVlfTINO* 


coat  and  hood  so  drawn  over  his  head,  as  to  resemble, 
in  a  great  measure,  the  unsuspecting  animals  he  is  en- 
ticing. Though  the  bellow  proves  a  considerable  at- 
traction, yet  if  a  man  has  great  patience,  he  may  do 
without  it,  and  may  be  equally  certain  that  his  prey 
will  ultimately  come  to  examine  him ;  the  rein-deer 
being  an  inquisitive  animal,  and  at  the  same  time  so 
silly,  that  if  he  sees  any  suspicious  object  which  is  not 
actually  chasing  him,  he  will  gradually,  and  after  many 
caperings  and  forming  repeated  circles,  approach  nearei- 
and  nearer  to  it.  The  Eskimaux  rarely  shoot  until 
the  creature  is  within  twelve  paces,  and  I  have  fre- 
quently been  told  of  their  being  killed  at  a  much 
shorter  distance,  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  the  hunters 
never  appear  openly,  but  employ  stratagem  for  their 
purpose;  thus  by  patience  and  ingenuity  rendering 
their  rudely  formed  bows,  and  still  worse  arrows,  as 
effective  as  the  rifles  of  Europeans.  When  two  men 
hunt  in  company,  they  sometimes'  purposely  show 
themselves  to  the  deer,  and  when  his  attention  is  fully 
engaged,  walk  slowly  away  from  him.  one  before  the 
other.  The  deer  follows,  and  when  the  hunters  arriTe 
near  a  stone,  the  foremost  dropn  behind  it  and  prepares  ] 
his  bow,  while  his  companion  continues  walking  steadi- 
ly forward.  This  latter  the  deer  still  follows  unsas-j 
pectingly,  and  thus  passes  near  the  concealed  man,  who 
takes  a  deliberate  aim  and  kills  the  animal.  When  the 
deer  assemble  in  herds,  there  are  particular  passes 
which  they  invariably  take,  and  on  being  driven  to] 
them  are  killed  with  arrows  by  the  men,  while  the  wo- 
men, with  shouts,  drive  them  to  the  water.  Heretbeyl 
swim  with  the  ease  and  activity  of  water-dogs;  tbej 
people  in  kayaks  chasing  and  easily  spearing  them:! 
the  carcasses  float,  and  the  hunter  then  presses  forwardl 
and  kills  as  many  as  he  finds  in  his  track.  No  springes,! 
or  traps,  arc  used  in  the  capture  of  these  animals,  as  ls[ 
practised  to  the  southward,  in  consequence  of  the  t( 
absence  of  standing  wood.  Musk-oxen  are  killed  in 
the  same  manner  as  deer;  and  with  bothitisrequi8ite,L 
on  account  of  their  quick  scent,  to  make  advancesT 


in 
ro< 
by 
lar 

ter 


BUD-CATCHING. 


^5 


to  resemble, 
lalB  he  is  en- 
Miderable  at- 
B,  he  may  do 
that  his  prey 
the  rein-deer 
same  time  so 
t  which  Is  not 
ind  after  many 
)proach  nearei* 
ly  shoot  until 
ind  l  have  ire- 
led  at  a  much  | 
hat  the  hunters 
tngem  for  their 
mity  rendering 
or«e  arrows,  as 
When  two  men 
purposely  show 
attention  is  luuy 
one  before  the 
le  hunters  arrive 
J  it  and  prepares 
£  walking  steadi- 
II  follows  unsas- 
icealed  man,  who 
[imal.    When  the 
particular  passes 
'being  driven  to 
jn,  while  the  wo- 
ater.    Here  they 
water-dogs;  the 
spearing  them: 
,  presses  forward 
ik.    No  springes,' 
•ese  animals,  as  ii 
lence  of  the  total] 

ten  are  killed  in 

,0th  it  Is  requisite, 

make  advances 


against  the  wind,  or,  to  use  a  sea  phrase,  to  have  them 
in  the  ^^  wind^s  eye.^^  Hares  are  also  killed  with  ar- 
rows, and  being  quiet  animals,  are  easily  caught  sitting, 
by  those  who  know  their  haunts.  Grouse  being  in 
large  coveys,  present  an  extensive  mark  for  the  hun- 
ter; and  as  they  are  stupid,  and  not  easily  persuaded  to 
fly,  will  see  the  arrow  fall  amongst  them  with  the 
greatest  unconcern.  The  shooter  walks  to  pick  it  up, 
and  they  remove  a  few  paces  only  before  him,  so  that 
he  has  repeated  shots.  Swans,  geese,  ducks,  and  other 
birds,  if  lying  in  the  hunter^s  path,  are  killed  by  the 
same  weapon ;  but  they  are  so  mucii  more  ea'^ily  ob- 
tained by  other  means,  that  he  never  moves  out  for  the 
express  purpose  of  shooting  them.  Opinions  vury  con- 
siderably respecting  the  skill  which  th^  Eskijiaux  dis- 
play in  archery ;  but  1  am  of  that  party  which  cou> 
demns  them  as  very  indifferent  marksmen. 

Ducks  and  divers  of  all  descriptions,  vrhich  'Vequent 
lakes,  are  caught  by  whalebone  nooses,  which  being 
ftftened  in  great  numbers  to  a  long  line,  and  stretched 
between  stones,  placed  at  intervals  across  shallow  lakes, 
easily  catch  the  birds  while  diving  for  their  prey,  or 
more  frequently,  from  being  alarmed  by  women  and 
children  stationed  for  the  purpose.  The  no  jse  hangi 
below  the  water,  but  no  sooner  closes  on  a  bird  than  the 
captive  rises  to  the  surface,  where,  when  seen,  some 
one  wades  in  and  secures  him.  Swans  are  caught  by 
gpringes^set  in  their  nest,  or  near  it,  and  the  whalebone 
hi  sufficient  strength  to  hold  the  bird  by  the  foot  until 
it  can  be  taken  out.  The  moultint;  b^r'ason  is  the  great 
bird  harvest,  as  a  few  persons,  wadt  jg  in  the  shallow 
lakes,  can  soon  tire  out  and  catch  the  birds  by  hand. 
Marmottes  and  ermines,  but  m^re  especially  the  form- 
jer,  are  caught  by  women,  who  suspend  a  nooie  over 
their  hole,  and  catch  them  with  great  ease.  Affbnotte 
pkins  are  frequently  procured,  in  one  summer,  by  a 
kmgle  female,  to  make  herself  a  pair  of  breeches,  in 
ibich  she  takes  great  pride  ,v  and  some  even  equip  a 

1  or  two  besides  themselves. 
I  DOW  come  to  the  traps  ased  to  catch  wolves  and 
21  » 


^     \ 


,!::J 


■;nr 


246 


FI8HIK6*  ^^a; 


,1^ 


51  ■■ 


4^}  ' 


foxes,  and  which  are  of  two  kinds  in  winter.  The 
first  is  made  of  strong  slahs  of  ice,  long  and  narrow,  so 
that  a  fox  can  with  difficulty  turn  himself  in  it,  but  a 
wolf  mast  actually  r<^main  in  the  position  in  which  he  is 
taken.  The  door  is  a  heavy  portcullis  of  ice,  sliding 
in  two  well  secured  grooves  of  the  same  substance,  and 
is  kept  up  by  a  Ime,  which,  passing  over  the  top  of  the 
trap,  is  carried  through  a  hole  at  the  farthest  extremi- 
ty ;  to  the  end  of  the  line  is  fastened  a  small  hoop  of 
whalebone,  and  to  this  any  kind  of  flesh  bait  is  attached. 
From  the  slab  which  terminates  the  trap,  a  projection 
of  ice,  or  a  peg  of  wood  or  bone,  points  inwards  near 
the  bottom,  and  under  this  the  hoop  is  lightly  hooked : 
the  slightest  pull  at  the  bait  liberates  it,  and  the  door 
falls  in  an  instant.  Foxes  are  sometimes  taken  out  by 
hand,  but  a  wolf  is  speared  as  he  lies  confined.  The 
second  kind  of  trap  is  like  a  small  lime-kiln  in  form, 
haying  a  hole  near  the  top,  within  which  the  bait  is 
placed,  and  the  foxes,  for  these  animals  alone  are  thus 
taken,  are  obliged  to  advance  to  it  over  a  piece  of  i 
whalebone,  which,  bending  beneath  their  weight,  lets] 
them  into  prison,  and  then  resumes  its  former  position :  < 
thus  a  great  number  of  them  are  sometimes  caught  in 
a  night.  In  the  summer  they  are  but  rarely  taken,  and 
it  is  then  by  means  of  a  trap  of  stones,  formed  like  the{ 
ice-trap,  with  a  falling  door. 

Matiner  of /uhing.-^-TheTe  is  less  art  practised  in  pro* 
curing  fish  than  any  other  article  of  Eskimaux  food. 
One  kind  only  is  caught  in  salt  water ;  this  is  the  sillock,l 
a  small  dark  fish,  left  in  pools  at  certain  spots,  by  thel 
falling  of  the  tide,  when  it  is  easily  taken  by  the  childreD.! 

In  fresh  water,  at  the  spawning  season,  salmon  arel 
caught  in  great  numbers  at  the  little  rushes  of  waterl 
which  fall  from  particular  lakes  or  rivulets  into  the  seal 
The  E^imaux  wade  up  to  the  middle  in  the  waterj 
and  with  the  k&k-ke-way,  or  little  nippers,  continue 
striking  down  until  a  fish  is  taken ;  they  then  thro* 
their  captive  on  shore,  and  continue  striking  for  others] 
One  man  can  load  a  sledge  with  them  in  a  day,  but  tb^ 
seasoo  does  not  last  long,  and  many  hands  render  m 


GEOGBAPHICAX  KNOWLEDGE. 


247 


W 


nnter.    The 
id  narrow,  80 
slf  mit,buta 
in  which  he  is 
of  ice,  sliding 
substance,  and 
the  top  of  the 
thest  extremi- 
small  hoop  of 
(ait  is  attached, 
ip,  a  projection  , 
ts  inwards  near 
lightly  hooked; 
t,  and  the  door 
,es  taken  out  by 
confined.     The 
(le-kilnin  form, 
hich  the  bait  is 
Js  alone  are  thus 
over  a  piece  of 
aeir  weight,  lets 
former  position : 
letimes  caught  in 
rarely  taken,  and 
formed  like  the 


prey  timid.  The  salmon  we  saw  were  small  sweet-£la- 
Toared  fish,  weighing  about  6  or  7  lbs.  The  other  very 
simple  process  of  taking  salmon  trout  in  lakes,  is  by 
having  a  small  ivory  fish  attached  to  a  string,  continual- 
ly bobbed  in  the  water  until  some  curious  trout  comes 
to  gaze  at  it,  when  he  is  immediately  struck  by  the  kak- 
keway  The  fishers  are  generally  boys,  and  the  sea- 
son is  at  the  close  of  the  year,  when  the  newly  formed 
ice  will  safely  bear  their  weight. 

I  have  seen  a  rude  kind  of  fish-hook,  but  whether  it 
is  used  for  taking  fish  with  bait,  or  by  jigging  for  them, 
1  know  not^  although  from  the  description  of  the  na- 
tives, I  suspect  the  latter. 

Travelling,  and  extent  of  geographical  knowledge. — 
The ''propensity  to  ramble  is  one  of  the  remarkable 
characteristics  of  the  Eskimaui,  who,  in  this  particular, 
resemble  the  Arabs  of  the  desert,  prefering  the  most 
desolate  and  inhospitable  countries  to  those  which  are 
clothed  with  wood  and  vegetation.     It  is  true  that  the 
sea  animals  are  found  in  abundance  in  the  icy  ocean, 
yet  there -are  some  stations  which  have  also  rein-deer, 
musk  oxen,  and  birds,  in  addition  to  these,  but  which 
are  rarely  visited,  though  in  nearly  the  same  parallel 
of  latitude.    There  are  no  regularly  established  settle- 
meats  along  an  immense  extent  of  coast,  at  which  the 
Eskimaux  can  be  said  to  have  a  fixed  habitation ;  but 
there  are  three  or  four  which  are  considered  as  gene- 
ral mustering  places,  and  are,  from  year  to  year,  chang- 
ing their  population.    Thus  for  instance,  Igloolik,  in 
consequence  of  our  known  intention  of  visiting  it,  prov- 
jed  the  most  attractive  wintering  quarter,  and  at  least 
I  half  the  dwellers  along  the  coast  hurried  to  assemble 
I  there.     This  last  place.  Repulse  Bay,  Akoolee  (by  all 
accounts  three  day 3  west  of  it,  and  on  the  sea  coast,) 
and  Noowook,  or  Wager  River,  are  the  principal  ren- 
dezvous along  the  N.£.  shores  of  America :  and  at  some 
looe  of  these  there  is  annually  a  gathering  of  the  small 
Ihonting  parties,  who  have  roamed  about  during  the 
|(Qmmer,  and  who  winter  in  a  body.    There  are  few 
eople  who  have  not  seen  each  of  the  above-named 


U-   ! 


::•  •!( 


\m\ 


5248 


^^^  y  MAinmR  AXn^  ^f^l^^sr' 


if. 

111  ^l  ^  f 


n 


.a 


places;  and  the  importance  assumed  by  a  great  Eski- 
maux  traveller,  is  fully  equal  to  that  displayed  by  Eu- 
ropeans who  have  seen,  the  world.     Nothing  indeed 
affords  more  gratification  to  a  mdn  newly  arrived,  than 
to  ask  him  of  the  places  he  has  recently  quitted,  unless 
it  be  to  Inquire  also  of  his  success  in  hunting  or  fishing, 
or  the  abundance  of  food  he  has  enjoyed  during  the 
summer.     In   travelling,  the   Eskimaux   are   entirely 
guided  by  well  known  points  or  objects  on  the  shore; 
and  therefore,  though  they  know  the  cardinal  points  of 
the  compass,  and  are  also  acquainted  with  particular 
stars,  they  have,  as  far  as  I  can  learn,  but  little  occa- 
sion to  depend  on  the  clearness  of  the  heavens,  or  the 
presence  of  the  sun.     The  setting  in  of  winter,  when 
the  ground  is  well  covered  with  snow,  and  the  land 
ice  firmly  formed,  is  one  of  the  principal  times  of  mov- 
ing, as  the  sledges  can  then  travel  conveniently,  and 
food  is  obtained  from  day  to  day,  in  consequence  of 
their  vicinity  to  open  water. 

At  night  snow  huts  are  speedily  constructed,  warm 
skins  are  spread,  and  the  lamps  are  lighted  for  cook- 
ing and  heating  the  dwellings. .  In  the  morning  the 
travellers  pursue  their  route.  Of  the  rate  at  which 
a  certain  space  may  be  travelled  over,  it  is  impossible 
to  have  an  idea,  as  all  accounts  vary  ;  for  this  reason, 
if  a  great  prize  of  flesh  is  taken,  it  is  customary  to  re^ 
main  and  feed  until  it  is  devoured  ;  if  repeated  success 
attends  the  hunters,  many  of  these  feasting  stoppages 
occur;  but  if,  on  the  other  hand,  their  captures  are 
few,  they  have  nothing  to  impede  their  progress.  The 
second  time  of  journeying  is  in  the  early  summer,  be- 
fore the  land  ice  has  parted  from  the  shores;  along 
this  the  sledges  proceed  easily,  as  it  is  then  free  from 
snow.  At  night  tents  are  pitched  on  the  shore,  from 
which  also  the  winter  clothing  has  began  to  disappear, 
and  in  consequence,  deer  are  found  travelling  north- 
wards. 

Here,  as  in  autumn,  success,  or  the  contrary,  deter- 
mines the  period  of  travelling.  A  third  way  of  passing 
from  place  to  place,  in  summer,  is  by  moving  along 


EXTENT  OF  TBAYELLING. 


249 


I  great  Eski- 
ayed  by  Eu- 
thing  indeed 
arrived,  than 
[uitted,  unless 
ing  or  fishing, 
d  during  the 

are  entirely 
on  the  shore ; 
dinal  points  ot 
^ith  particular 
)ut  little  occa- 
eavens,  or  the 

winter^  when 
^  and  the  land 
I  times  of  mov- 
nveniently,  and 
jonsequence  of 

istructed,  warm 
rhted  for  cook- 
5  morning  the 
rate  at  which 
it  is  impossible 
"or  this  reason, 
istomary  to  re- 
ipeated  success 
jtiDg  stoppages 
,r  captures  are 
progress.  The 
:ly  summer,  he- 
shores;  along 
then  free  from 
ihe  shore,  irom 
m  to  disappear, 
•avelUng  north- 

Icontrary,  deter- 

way  of  passing 

fy  moving  along 


amongst  the  hills,  killing  deer,  catching  fish  and  small 
animals.     At  the  close  of  this  short  season  of  happi- 
ness, the  settlement  nearest  at  hand  is  selected  for  the 
winter  quarters.     If  small  rivers  or  lakes  lie  across 
the  track,  the  men  ferry  over  their  wives  and  children 
on  their  kayaks,  which  generally  are   carried   with 
them  in  frames,  one  person  being  taken  across  at  a 
time :  if  grown  up,  they  lie  on  their  belly,  and  balance 
with  hands  and  legs  on  the  hind  covering  of  the  boat  ,* 
but  if  children,  they  are  seated  in  the  lap  of  the  man 
who  paddles.      Any  weighty  goods,  for  example,  a 
bone  sledge,  &c.  are  frequently  left  in  store  on  the 
banks;  and  as  every  streamlet,  lake,  bay,  point,  or 
island,  has  a  name,  and  even  certain  piles  of  stones 
have  also  appellations,  it  is  easy,  in  some  ensuing  year, 
to  find  the  things  which  are  buried,  or  even  to  describe 
their  situation  to  others.     It  is  remarkable,  that  in 
enumeralinsr  the   various  sleeps,   or  days^  journeys 
along  the  shore,  every  one  has  a  particular  name,  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  Alftms,  or  piles  of  stones  on  the 
African  desert,  and  which  are  also  placed  by  travellers 
I  to  mark  the  usual  resting-places  or  wells.       H'  <    ^  '?? 
I'he  Eskimaux,  even  those  who  have  roamed  to  a 
I  short  distance  only,  are  acquainted  traditionally  with 
their  own  country  ;  and  I  have  seen  charts  of  a  line  of 
coast  drawn  by  perf^ons  who  never  were  on  it,  with 
nearly  the  same  remarks,  and  exactly  the  same  names, 
as  those  traced  by  experienced  travellers.     The  whole 
space  of  country  traversed  by  the  tribe  with  whom  we 
were  acquainted  extends  from  Noowook  to  igioolik, 
and  is  about  ninety  miles  north  of  this  latter ;  a  distance 
{of  but  few  miles  in  a  direct  line,  but  comprehending 
Ian  immense  number  of  deep  inlets,  bays,  and  islands. 
{There  are  again  distant  tribes,  with  whom  communi- 
ication  is  occasionally  held,  and  who  are  situated  eight 
lor  ten  days  to  the  north-eastward.     This  distant  tribe, 
Ifrom  all  accounts,  differs,  and  indeed  is  distinct  from 
lour  people,  yet  intermarriages  have  taken  place  amongst 
Ithem,  and  there  are  annually  some  travellers  to  and 
Irom  them ;  but  this  occurs  before  the  sea  begins  to 


^1 


IH  i 


250 


EXTENT  OV  TBATBLLING. 


break  up,  as  it  is  over  saljl  water  ice  that  four  days^ 
journey  must  be  performed.  There  are,  besides,  some 
smaller  establishments  on  various  northern  islands,  and 
in  bays,  of  which,^  as  I  have  not  obtained  satisfactory 
intelligence,  I  shall  make  no  other  mention  than  that 
they  are  strangers.  One  nation,  however,  is  nearer  at 
^iand,  respecting  whom  none  of  our  informants  seem 
well  acquainted ;  those  are  the  inhabitants  of  South- 
ampton island,  which,  though  in  sight  from  Repulse 
Bay  and  Noowook)  appears  never  to  be  visited.  Our 
people  gave  to  it,  and  to  its  native?,  the  name  of] 
Khiad-ler-mio ;  and  it  is  ol  ^  ervable,  that  they  hold 
these  near,  but  unknown  neighbours,  in  the  most 
sovereign  contempt,  considering  them  as  savages,  aod  | 
as  vastly  inferior  to  themselves. 

Captain  Parry  agrees  with  me  in  opinion,  that  the  I 
terjA  1  have  employed  is  used  by  our  polished  acquaint- 1 
ances  in  the  same  manner,  and  to  the  same  extent, 
the  appellation  of  barbari,  which  the  Greeks,  and  after  I 
them  the  Romans,  so  liberally  bestowed  on  all  other 
nations  but  their  own.  The  savages  we  saw  in  Hud-f 
son^s  Strait,  and  the  land  they  occupy,  appear  to  bel 
quite  unknown,  and  for  a  very  clear  reason.  Nol 
oomiaks  Jiave  been  seen,  or  are  used  by  our  tribe,  and 
no  direct  communication  therefore  can  ever  have  taken  I 
place  by  families,  and  perhaps  so  rarely  by  single| 
kayaks,  as  not  to  be  remembered.     -*m^ 

The  Eskimaux  do  not,  like  many  other  wild  people,! 
imagine  that  there  is  no  world  besides  that  which  tbejl 
occupy ;  but  have  some  faint  ideas  of  what  the  unseen  I 
countries  are,  and  take  great  pleasure  in  hearing  ofl 
them.  They  have  many  traditionary  stories  of  Kab-j 
loona  and  Indians ;  of  the  latter  of  whom,  under  tbel 
name  It-kftgh-lle,  they  speak  with  fear  and  abhorrence:! 
but  the  former,  unlike  the  kabloonas  of  the  earij| 
Greenlanders,  are  not  looked  upon  as  differing  in 
species  from  themselves,  but  as  a  good  people,  wl 
have  plenty  of  wood  and  iron.  This  character,  o^ 
course,  may  be  traced  from  the  time  of  the  establisli 
meat  of  our  factories  in  Hodson^s  Bay,  which  have 


Tfli. 


OEKESAX  DISPOSITIOir. 


S51 


at  four  days' 
yesides,  some 
a  islands,  and 
i  satisfactory 
tion  than  that 
r,  is  nearer  at 
ormants  seem 
ints  of  South. 
from  Repulse 
visited.    Oui 
the  name  of 
hat  they  hold 
in   the  most 
as  savages,  and 

>inion,  that  the 
.lishcd  acquaint- 
same  extent,  as 


constant  communication  with  the  Noowook  people 
through  the  intervening  tribes,  who  however  do  not 
constitute  a  part  of  the  northern  family,  or,  as  far  as 
I  can  learn,  form  any  settlements  north  of  Chesterfield 
Inlet,  and  rarely  even  so  high  as  at  that  place. 

The  limits  of  our  certain  information  are  these : 
I  Noowook  to  the  southward,  Igloolik  to  the  northward, 
{and  the  land  between  them  bounded  on  either  side  by 
Thus,  at  Akkoolee,  three  days  to  the  westward 
I  of  Repulse  Bay,  according  to  all  accounts,  the  main 
ocean  is  arrived  at.  It  stretches  to  the  westward  as 
liar  as  can  be  seen  from  the  settlement ;  but  a  farther 
lltnowledge  does  not  seem  to  have  been  obtained,  as  it 
jig  the  opinion  of  the  Eskimaux  that  no  animals  for 
Ifood  are  to  be  found  along  its  banks.  From  Akkoolee 
Ithe  se9  is  traced  to  the  northward  as  far  as  the  strait 
Iwhich  we  examined  in  September  18S2,  and  which  is 
named  by  the  natives  Kkee-mig,  or  the  closed,  being, 


'reeks  andafteclswe  found  it,  constantly  choked  with  ice.     None 
ved  on  all  other  »-.-^ 

^e  saw  in  Hud- 
ly,  appear  to  be 

ar  reason.     i>o 

,y  our  tribe,  and 

e,er  have  taken 

arely  by  single 


aye  passed  this  by  water,  yet  it  opens  to  the  westward 

the  main  ocean.     The  islands  to  the  north  of  this 

Slit  are  large,  but  it  is  known  that  a  sea,  perhaps  a 

|tozen  one,  is  beyond  them.     Of  the  eastern  coast  I 

pd  make  no  mention,  as  we  have  examined  it  all 

om  Repulse   Bay;  but  I  cannot   conclude   without 

estowing  deserved  praise  on  several  of  our  native 

kydrographers,  hv  the  wonderful  correctness  of  their 

Iharts  of  the  coast.       -f  »    >*"'^*     ^'^-yn-v^^' -  ■•^.  r  .  ;. 


GENERAL  DISPOSITION. 


Iher  wild  people 
that  which  they 
«hat  the  uoseenl 
re  in  hearing  oti 
stories  of  Kab-H  Honesty. — I  verily  believe  that  there  does  not  exist 
rbom  under  tbelmore  honest  set  of  people  than  the  tribe  with  whom 
and  abhorrence :Be  had  so  long  an  acquaintance.  Amongst  themselves 
ag  of  the  earljMey  never  even  touch  each  other's  property  without 
as  differing  ivrmission,  and  on  board  the  ships  their  scruples  were 
>  people,  wh(Ae  same.  I  have  mentioned  a  few  trifling  appropria- 
lis  character,  oHing,  for  thefts  I  can  hardly  call  them,  which  were 
of  the  eatabhshAde  without  our  consent ;  but  it  is  only  justice  to 
which  have  )|ow  that  our  unreserved  distribution  of  iron,  and  the 


■■k  !' 


m^ 


252 


GENERAL  DISPOSITION* 


'r'fif 


quantity  of  empty  tin  vessels  thrown  away  on  the  dirt 
heap  alongside,  were  of  themselves  sufficient  induce- 
ment for  some  few  of  the  natives  lo  take  such  articles 
away,  even  from  the  deck*- 

We  should  also  con^^ide;    (he  amay.incf  temptations 
constantly  thrown  in  the  waj  o^poor  ig.nci-int  savages, 
possess<^d  neither  of  wood  uor  iron,  awd  esteeming 
these  two  substanf  3s  as  :iiuch  as  we  do  gold  or  jewels. 
Onr  acquaintances,  on  the  whole,  amounted  to  about 
200  people,  yet  only  three  out  of  that  number  were 
considered  as  detarmined  thievfis,  nr  d  tl.ay  performed 
their  work  so  clumsily  as  to   be  instantly  detected. 
To  weigh   with   tljiese,   very  ..vimoious  instances  of 
honesty  might  be  mentiotied ;  and  when  things  have 
been  really  dropped  on  the  ice,  or  otherwise  lost,  the 
EskimauiL,  on  picking  them  up,  have  invariably  brought 
them  to  be  ownefd  on  board.     Notwithstanding  this, 
however,  they  have  one  very  glaring  and  yet  natural 
fault,  which  is  Envy.     This  passion  exists  amongst 
them  to  the  highest  degree.     The  possession  of  any 
desirable  article  by  another,  is  sufficient  to  draw  down 
on  him  a  bad  name  from  the  man  who  covets  it ;  and 
^  the  women  are  much  addicted  to  blackening  the  cha 
racter  of  any  sister  who  enjoys  a  more  than  usualj 
quantity  of  beads,  tin  pots,  kc.    This  vice  leads  natu 
rally  to  its  very  near  relation, 

Begging.  Every  one  begs ;  but  their  demands  an 
invariably  introduced  with  a  piteous  story  of  the  fa 
fours  conferred  on  some  other,  and  an  assertion  ol 
their  own  right  to  be  equally  well  treated.  Yet,  wbei 
presents  are  given,  they  are  never  content,  and  thi 
passion  appears  to  increase  with  the  favours  receive' 

Gratitude  is  not  only  rare,  but  absolutely  unknowi 
amongst  theip,  either  by  action,  word,  or  look,  beyoDi 
the  first  outcry  of  satisfaction.  Nursing  their  sic 
burying  the  dead,  clothing  and  feeding  the  whole  tri' 
furnishing  the  men  with  weapons,  and  the  women  ai 
xhildren  with  ornaments,  are  insufficient  to  awaken 
grateful  feeling,  and  the  very  people  who  relievi 
their  distresses  when  starving,  are  laughed  at  in  ti 


of 

vfh 

i 

oat 

sist 

acci 

que! 

eith 


me. 


GBNERAL  DISPOSITION. 


25S 


of  plenty,  for  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  food 
which  was  bestowed  in  charity. 

Lying.  The  envious  disposition  of  these  people 
naturally  leads  them  into  falsehood ;  but  their  lies  con- 
sist only  in  vilifying  each  other's  character,  with  false 
accusations  of  theft  or  ill  behaviour.  When  asking 
questions  of  an  individual,  it  is  but  rarely  that  he  will 
either  advance  or  persist  in  an  untruth.  They  are 
very  tenacious  of  being  termed  •'  thief,"  or  "  liar."  I 
am  sorry  to  be  so  ungallant  as  to  agree  with  Crantz, 
that  lying,  envy,  and  quarrelling,  are  almost  exclu- 
si?ely  contiued  to  the  ladies ;  and  to  this  list  begging 
may  safely  be  added. 

Hospitality.  Of  this  virtue,  we  had  a  most  convinc- 
ing proof  in  the  treatment  we  received  when  strangers, 
wet  and  cold,  we  found  shelter  for  a  night  in  their 
tents,  July  16th,  1822.  On  that  occasion,  both  sexes 
gave  up  their  clothes  and  bedding  for  our  use,  warm- 
I  ing  us,  hauling  our  boat  over  the  ice,  and  assisting  us 
in  every  way,  and  in  the  kindest  manner.  The  wo- 
men in  particular,  though  insufferably  dirty,  and  co- 
vered with  tram  oil,  showed  the  greatest  tenderness 
and  solicitude  for  our  comfort,  though  subsequently 
Ibey  were  too  apt  to  remind  us,  whenever  they  wanted 
any  thing,  of  the  shelter  they  had  once  afforded  us. 
An  Eskimaux  is  equally  hospitable  as  an  Arab,  and 
whatever  fo^d  he  possesses  is  free  to  all  who  enter. 
[He  never  eats  with  closed  doors,  but  by  his  manner 
Itonvinces  his  visitors  that  they  are  welcome.  I  have 
|jilept  seven  or  eight  times,  without  another  European, 
different  huts{  and  invariably  have  met  with  the 
jsame  attention ;  my  property  was  respected  by  my 
bosts,  even  though  begged  by  others ;  the  best  seat 
m  assigned,  and  a  portion  of  food  offered  me,  while! 
m  even  thanked  for  accepting  and  eating  it.  As  a 
roof  that  all  this  proceeded  from  motives  of  pure 
bospitality,  if  i  Ihe  next  day  entered  the  hut,  and 
£ked  even  a  bit  of  moss,  1  was  required  to  pay  for  it, 
esides  which  every  thing  in  my  possession  was  begge4 
"me. 


li 


'i  *■ 


mi 


Ui '" 


M- 


r 
t 
r 


254 


GEinfiBAL  DISPOSITION. 


Temper.  Though  the  Eskimaux  do  not  possess 
much  of  the  milk  of  human  kindness,  yet  their  even 
temper  is  in  the  highest  degree  praiseworthy.  In  pain, 
cold,  starvation,  disappointment,  or  under  rough  treat- 
ment, their  good  humour  is  rarely  ruffled.  Few  have 
ever  shown  symptoms  of  sulkiness,  and  even  then  for  a 
short  time  only.  Those  who  for  an  instant  feel  anger 
at  neglect,  or  at  being  punished  for  some  offence,  are,  j 
in  a  few  moments,  as  lively  and  as  well  disposed  to  the 
persons  who  affronted  them  as  if  nothing  had  occurred. 
No  serious  quarrels  or  blows  happen  amongst  them- 
selves,  and  the  occasional  little  instances  of  spite 
which  I  have  mentioned  are  the  only  disagreement] 
they  have. 

Revenge.  The  detestable  passion  of  almost  alll 
savages  is  I  believe  here  unknown,  and  1  could  learnl 
of  no  instances  of  any  one  man  having  ever  killedl 
another,  or  of  a  son  imbibing  from  his  father  anyl 
dislike  towards  particular  persons.  At  the  distantf 
northern  settlements,  however,  of  which  we  knoT 
nothing  but  by  report,  murders  are  said  to  be  fre-j 
quently  committed. 

Courage^  and  that  too  in  an  eminent  degree,  muMbel 
allowed  to  a  people  who  dare  to  face  the  terrific  Polai 
bear,  and  even  to  kill  it  in  single  combat,  with  odIjj 
the  assistance  of  their  dogs.  There  is  an  indepeo 
dent  fearless  expression  in  the  countenance  and  per 
son  of  an  Eskimaux,  v.  hich  is  highly  strikiog.  Thd 
firm  walk,  erect  head,  and  unbending  eye,  all  denot^ 
a  man  who  feels  confident  of  himself.  An  insensibilit] 
of  dangfer  is  acquired  also  in  venturing  amongst  youD 
or  loose  ice,  which  by  a  change  oi  wind  or  unse>?n  rup 
tion,  might  carry  them  to  certain  starvation  and  deatl 
at  sea.  This  very  indifference  has,  however,  beeDtb| 
means  of  many  men  having  fallen  through  the  ice, 
some  few  women  also,  who  have  never  risen  agaii 
and  whose  families  have  told  the  story  of  their  fate. 


MABBIAGE  AlTD  BIGAMY. 


253 


■'V-i. 


MARRIAGE,  BIGAMY,  &c. 


It  is  a  very  general  custom  for  parents  to  betroth 
their  children  in  infancy,  and  this  compact  being  un- 
derstood, the  parties,  whenever  they  are  inclined,  and 
iible  to  keep  house,  may  begfin  living  as  man  and  wife. 
Thus  it  is  that  so  many  very  young  couples  are  seen, 
and  that  our  {.rrival  was  the  means  of  some  marriages 
being  maiie  in  consequence  of  the  youthful  bridegrooms 
being  enriched  by  our  presents  of  household  and  hunt- 
ing furniture.     The  husband,  though  young,  is  still  a 
manly  person,  and  a  good  hunter;  but  the  wife,  in  two 
or  three  instances,  could  not  be  above  twelve  or  thir- 
teen years  of  age,  and  to  all  appearance  a  mere  child. 
Where  previous  engagements  are  not  made,  the  men 
select  wives   amongst   their   relatives  or  connexions, 
paying  but  little  regard  to  beauty  of  face  ;  and  as  to 
person,  ihat  is  equally  out  of  the  question.     Young  men 
I  Daturally  prefer  youthful  females ;  but  the  middle-aged 
I  will  connect  themselves  with  old  widows,  as  being  more 
skilled  in  household  duties,  and  better  able  to  take  care 
of  their  mutual  comforts.     I  cannot  pretend  to  guess  at 
I  what  are  the  requisite  qualifications  of  a  woman  in  the 
[eye  of  an  Eskimaux,  independent  of  her  skill  in  house- 
iwifery.     There   is  decidedly  no  ceremony  by  which 
married  people  are  connected,  and  I  am  quite  unable 
to  distinguish  in  what  a  wife  differs  from  a  concubine, 
for  there  are  some  women  in  that  situation,  as  both, 
for  the  time,  receive  the  same  title.     I  never,  how- 
ever, observed  a  woman  living  in  this  manner  in  the 
same  family  with   an  acknowledged  wife.     Bigamy  is 
cotnn)on,  but  I  could  hear  of  no  instances  of  men  hav- 
ing more  than  two  wives;  the  greater  portion, indeed, 
of  those  we  knew  had  but  one.    Divorced  women  are 
frequent,  but   they  soon,  by  marriage,   or  otherwise, 
I  form  other  connexions.    Widows  who  have  friends  and 
)od  health,  fare  equally  well  with  those  females  who 
I  have  husbands;  but  illness,  or  want  of  friends,  seals 
their  fate,  and  if  they  are  unable  by  prostitution  to 


■  if 


S56 


ESTIMATION  OF  WOMEN*. 


support  themselves,  they  are  left  to  starve  with  their 
children.  Cousins  are  allowed  to  marry,  but  a  man 
will  not  wed  two  sisters.  A  son  or  daughter-in-latv 
does  not  consider  father  or  mother-in-law  in  the  light 
of  relations.  The  most  extraordinary  connexion  is 
that  by  adopuon,  for  there  are  few  families  which  have 
not  one  or  two  adopted  sons,  their  proper  progeny 
being  in  like  manner  adopted  by  others.  A  wealthy 
man  will,  in  this  manner,  take  fine  stout  youths  under 
his  protection,  and  is  thereby  insured  of  beinar  support- 
ed in  his  old  age,  and  having  good  assistance,  while 
yet  himself  a  hunter.  This  curious  connexion  binds 
the  parties  as  firmly  together  as  the  ties  of  blood  ;  and 
an  adopted  son,  if  senior  to  one  by  nature,  is  the  hoir 
to  all  the  family  riches.  This  exchange  of  children 
is  frequently  made  between  families  already  relatcl  or 
connected,  and  1  am  aware  of  but  one  instance  of  a 
girl  being  Tegoo-wa-gha,  while  her  natural  parents 
were  alive. 

Estimation    of  women.-^The   women    are    treated 
well;  are  rarely,  if  ever,  beaten;  are  never  compelled 
to  work,  and  are  always  allowed  an  equal  authority  in 
household  a£fairs  with  the  men.     Though  a  phlegmatic 
people,  the  Eskimaux  may  be  said  to  treat  them  with 
fondness ;  and  young  couples  are  frequently  seen  rub-  j 
bing  noses,  their  favourite  mark  of  affection,  with  an 
air  of  tenderness.     Yet  even  those  men  and  women 
who  seem  most  fond  of  each  other,  have  no  scruples 
on  the  score  of  mutual  infidelity,  and  the  husband  is 
willingly  a  pander  to   his  own  shame.     A  woman  de- 
tails her  intrigues  to  her   husband  with  iuc  most  per- 1 
feet  unconcern,  and  will  also  answer  to  any  charge  of 
the  kind  made  before  a  numerous  assemblage  of  peo-l 
pie.     Husbands  prostitute    wives,  brothers  sisters,  and 
parents  daughters,  without  showing  the  least  signs  of 
shame.     It  is   considered   extremely  friendly  for  ttvo[ 
men  to  exchange  wives  for  a  day  or  two,  and  the  re- 
quest  is  sometimes  made  by  the  women  themselves,! 
These  extraordinary  civilities,   although   known,  are 
never    talked   of,  and    are   contrived   as  secretly  aj| 
j^iossible.  V      .         -■.''■ 


TREATMENT  OF  CHILDREN. 


257 


ve  with  their 
ry,  but  a  man 
lughler-in-law 
/   in  the  light 
connexion  is 
les  which  have 
roper  progeny 
•8.     A  wealthy 
t  youths  under 
beins:  support- 
jsistance,  while 
connexion  binds 
s  of  blood  ;  and 
ure,  is  the  heir 
nge  of  children 
:eady  related  or 
\e  instance  of  a 
natural  parents 

en    are    treated 
never  compelled 
tual  authority  in 
gh  a  phlegmatic 
treat  them  with 
lently  seen  rub- 
iection,  with  an 
aen  and  women 
ave  no  scruples 
the  husband  is 
.     A  woman  de- 
jth  luc  most  per- 
o  any  charge  ol 
iembjage  of  peo- 
Ihers  sisters,  and 
|he  least  signs  of 
friendly  for  two 
two,  and  the  re- 
[men  themselves. 
»ugh   known,  are 
as  secretly  as 


Even  the  yery  early  age  of  a  female  is  not  consider- 
ed, either  by  herself  or  her  wretched  companions,  who 
are  all  equally  willing  to  assist  in  bringing  her  forward. 
In  this  deplorable  state  of  morals  and  common  decency, 
it  is  eitraordinary  that  in  general  conversation  not  an 
immodest  word  or  gesture  can  be  detected ;  when 
men  and  women  are  mixed  together,  and  in  dancing  or 
singing  parties,  the  females  have  a  seat  apart,  the 
conduct  of  both  sexes  being  extremely  decorous. 

When  parties   are   out   fishing,  such  young  men  as 
are  at   home    make   no  scruple   of  intriguing    with 
others^   wives,   yet  if  the  injured  husband    hears    of 
it,  it  gives    him   little  or  no  uneasiness.     Divorced 
women    and    widows,    and    even    young    and    well- 
looking   girls,  are   equally  liberal  of  their   persons. 
There  is  one  very  remarkable  fact  attached  to  this 
general  depravity,  which  is  that  we  never  heard  of 
any  quarrels  arising  respecting  women,  and  this  may 
be  attributed  to  the  men  being  totally  unacquainted 
with  such  a  passion  as  love,  or  its  frequent  attendant, 
jealousy.     Two  wives,  however,  will  sometimes  have 
a  quarrel  about  the  preference  of  their,  husband,  and 
a  pull  by  the  hair,  or  a  scratched  face,  has  been  known 
to  have  passed  between  the  disputants.     It  is  a  gener- 
ally allowed  opinion  that  the  farther  North  man  is  set- 
tled, the  more  dwindled  is  his  form,  his  intellect,  and 
\Ai  passions  ;  and  in  these  last,  the  Eskimaux  are  cer- 
tainly different  from  any  race  of  beings  1  ever  saw  or 
heard  of     With  all  their  indifference  to  morality,  these 
pe(  pie,  but  particularly  the  women,  have  a  great  dread 
of  exposing  any  part  of  their  persons,  ixud  in  this  re- 
I  spect  are  really  very  bashful.     Blushes  are  by  no  means 
I  unknown,  and  may  be  easily  excited,  even  in  the  men. 
I  have  already,  in  my  journal,  mentioned  an  instance 
of  the  loose  behaviour  of  the  women  when  the  men 
are  absent,  and  believe  that  at  these  female  assembla- 
ges their  conduct,  when  not  liable  to  interruption,  is 
I  frantic  and  licentious  in  the  extreme. 

Treatment  of  children. — Although  no  Eskimaux  can 
I  have  the  least  certainty  of  bei:<ig  the  father  of  his  wife's 
22* 


i 


H'  f 


(>■ 


mT 

T "(  ■_ 

■ 

if 

if. 


258 


CONDUCT  TO    iXTB  AGED. 


children,  yet  if  she  brings  progeny,  he  is  very  indlffe 
rent  as  to  their  legitimacy,  and  considers  them  as  un< 
doubtedly  his  own.  Nothing  can  be  more  delightful 
than  the  fondness  which  parents  show  to  their  little 
ones  during  infancy.  The  mothers  carry  them  naked 
on  their  backs,  until  they  are  stout  and  able  walkers, 
and  their  whole  time  and  attention  are  occupied  in 
nursing  and  feeding  them.  The  fathers  make  little 
toys,  play  with,  and  are  constantly  giving  them  what- 
ever assistance  lies  in  their  power.  A  child  is  never 
corrected  or  scolded,  but  has  its  own  way  in  every 
thing.  Their  tempers  are,  however,  excellent ;  their 
spirits  good,  and  they  are  affectionate  towards  their 
parents.  As  they  grow  up,  however,  they  become  in- 
dependent, but  still  consider  it  their  duty  to  obey  and 
assist  their  father  and  mother.  Amongst  themselves 
the  little  ones  never  quarrel  or  fight,  and  they  even 
play  at  the  roughest  games  without  losing  their  tem- 
per. Little  boys  frequently  attach  themselves  to  each 
other,  and  are  inseparable  companions  ever  after. 
The  amusements  of  each  sex  consist  in  imitations  of 
their  future  occupations,  and  while  the  boys  are  mak- 
ing bows,  spears,  kc.  the  little  girls  are  gravely  affect- 
ing to  superintend  the  care  of  a  hut  and  lamp.  Par- 
ties sometimes  join  forces  and  build  small  snow  places, 
in  which  they  put  rude  models  of  the  furniture  of  real 
dwellings. 

Conduct  to  the  aged. — Old  and  helpless  persons  lead 
a  quiet  undisturbed  life,  while  their  ow4i  or  adopted 
children  live ;  but  should  their  natural  supporters  die, 
no  one  would  move  a  foot  to  save  them  from  being  j 
frozen  or  starved  to  death.  The  protection  afforded  to 
the  poor  old  wretches  is  of  a  negative  sort,  for  they  are 
fed  merely  because  food  is  brought  for  all  the  inmates 
of  the  hut,  but  no  one  of  their  nearest  relatives  would 
in  a  time  of  scarcity  forego  a  mouthful  for  their  accom- 
modatioa.  In  moving  them  about,  they  are  bandied  ae 
roughly  as  if  they  were  in  full  vigour ;  and  if  they  are 
|>erforming  a  journey,  and  sinking  from  fatigue,  the 
fttoulestj  even  of  their  own  desceodapti)  wUi  not  resign  to 


m 


SVFBIISTITIONS. 


£59 


I  very  indiffe 
I  tbetn  as  un- 
)re  delightful 
to  their  Utile 
y  them  naked 
able  walkers, 
e  occupied  in 
rs  make  little 
ig  them  what- 
child  is  never 
way  in  every 
Kcellent;  their 
tov\'ards  their 
key  become  in- 
ty  to  obey  and 
kgst  themselves 
and  they  even 
>sing  their  tern- 
DQselves  to  each 
)ns  ever  after. 
in  imitations  of 
B  boys  are  mak- 
B  gravely  affect- 
ind  lamp.    Par- 
all  snow  places, 
urniture  of  real 

,  , ,  ;1  44*»»' 

ess  persons  lead 
ow«  or  adopted 
supporters  die, 
lem  from  being 
ction  afforded  to 
ort,  for  they  are 
all  the  inmates  i 
relatives  would 
-  for  their  accom- 
y  are  bandied  as 
;  and  if  they  are 
•om  fatigue,  the 
wUlaotcesignto 


them  a  seat  on  the  sledge.  The  old  people,  on  their 
side,  think  nothing  of  this  neglect :  having  themselves 
practised  it  to  their  parents,  they  do  not  expect  atten- 
tion in  their  own  helpless  state. 

Care  of  the  sick  cmd  dead. — To  the  sick  who  have 
relations  living  under  the  same  roof,  little  or  no  atten- 
tion is  paid  ;  sympathy  or  pity  being  equally  unknown. 
A  wife  attends  on  her  sick  husband,  because  she  knows 
that  his  death  would  leave  her  destitute ;  but  if  any 
other  person  would  take  the  trouble  off  her  hands,  she 
would  never  even  ask  to  see  or  at  all  inquire  after  him. 
A  man  will  leave  his  dying  wife  without  caring  who 
attends  her  during  his  absence;  a  woman  will  walk  to 
the  ships  in  high  spirits  while  her  husband  is  lying 
neglected  at  death^s  door  in  a  solltnry  hut.  A  brother 
will  not  be  able  to  inform  you  if  his  sick  sister  be  bet- 
ter or  worse,  and  in  her  turn  a  sister  will  laugh  at  the 
sufferings  of  her  brother.  A  sick  woman  is  frequently 
built  or  blocked  up  in  a  snow-hut,  and  not  a  soul  goes 
near  to  look  in  and  ascertain  whether  she  be  alive  or 
dead.  1  shall  have  occasion  to  speak  more  at  length 
of  this  brutal  insensibility  in  my  regular  journal,  and 
shall  therefore  now  turn  to  their  care  of  the  dead. 
The  relatives  alone  attend  to  the  corpse,  on  which  a 
few  slabs  of  snow  are  placed,  and  if  the  dogs  choose  to 
devour  the  body,  they  do  so  undisturbed,  for  not  a  soul 
would  take  the  trouble  again  to  cover  it.  The  survi- 
vors speak  of  these  horrors  with  far  less  concern  than 
they  would  of  a  dog^s  stealing  a  small  piece  of  meat. 

Superstitions. — Notwithstanding  I  have,  in  a  former 
page,  pledged  my«>elf  to  give  some  further  accounts  of 
superstitions  and  other  subjects  relating  to  the  Eski- 
maux,  I  find  that  1  must  now  limit  myself  to  a  few  ob- 
servations only,  my  details  having  already,  in  many  in- 
stances, exceeded  the  bounds  I  had  prescribed  to  my- 
i  self  in  this  little  volume,  and  my  fears  of  tiring  the 
I  patience  of  my  reader  predominating  even  over  the 
I  wish  to  fulfil  my  promise. 

The  Eskimaux,  like  all  olher  savages,  possess  a  large 
I  share  of  superstition ;  but  our  imperfect  knowledge  of 


H 


260 


SVPEBSTITIOirS. 


lit] 


their  language  necessarily  prevented  our  tracing  any 
of  their  ceremonies  to  their  source :  I  shall,  therefore, 
only  state  such  peculiar  superstitions  and  customs  as  I 
myself  observed,  though  without  pretending  to  order 
or  connexion. 

Amongst  our  Igloolik  acquaintances  were  two  female 
and  a  few  male  wizards,  of  whom  the  pnncipal  was 
Toolemak.  This  personage  was  cunning  and  intelligent, 
and,  whether  professionally,  or  from  his  skill  in  the 
chase,  but  perhaps  from  both  reasons,  was  considered 
by  all  the  tribe  as  a  man  of  importance.  As  1  invaria- 
bly paid  great  deference  to  his  opinion  on  all  subjects 
connected  with  his  calling,  he  freely- communicated  to 
me  his  superior  knowledge,  and  did  not  scruple  to  aU 
low  of  my  being  present  at  his  interviews  with  Torn- 
g&,  or  his  patron  spirit.  In  consequence  of  this,  I  took 
an  early  opportunity  of  requesting  my  friend  to  exhibit 
his  skill  in  my  cabin.  Hib  old  wife  was  with  him,  and 
by  much  jflattery,  and  an  accidental  display  of  a  glittering 
knife  and  some  beads,  she  assisted  me  in  obtaining  mjr 
request.  All  light  excluded,  our  sorcerer  began  chant- 
ing to  his  wife  with  great  vehemence,  and  she  in  re- 
turn answered  by  singing  the  Amna-aya,  which  was 
not  discontinued  during  the  whole  ceremony.  As  far 
as  I  could  hear,  he  afterwards  began  turning  himself 
rapidly  round,  and  in  a  loud  powerful  voice  vociferated 
for  Tornga  with  great  impatience,  at  the  same  time 
blowing  and  snorting  like  a  walrus.  His  noise,  impa- 
tience, and  agitation  increasing  every  moment,  and  he 
at  length  seated  himself  on  the  deck,  varying  his  tones, 
and  making  a  rustling  with  his  clothes. 

Suddenly  the  voice  seemed  smothered,  and  was  so 
managed  as  to  sound  as  if  retreating  beneath  the  deck, 
each  moment  becoming  more  distant,  and  ultimately 
givii^g  the  idea  of  being  many  feet  below  the  cabin, 
when  it  ceased  entirely.  His  wife  now,  in  answer  to 
my  queries,  informed  me  very  seriously  that  he  bad 
dived,  and  that  he  would  send  up  Tornga.  According- 
ly, in  about  half  a  minute,  a  distant  blowing  wa«  heard 
very  slowly  approaching,  and  a  voice  which  difftred 


SFPEHSTITI017S. 


26% 


re  two  female 
principal  was 
lud  intelligent, 
8  skill  in  the 
ras  considered 
As  1  invaria- 
on  all  subjects 
mmunicated  to 
L  scruple  to  al- 
jws  with  Torn- 
e  of  this,  1  took 
riend  to  exhibit 
J  with  him,  and 
ly  of  a  glittering 
n  obtaining  my 
•er  began  chant- 
,  and  she  in  re- 
lya,  which  was 
emony.  As  far 
turning  himself 
lice  vociferated 
the  same  time 
is  noise,  impa- 
joment,  and  he 
trying  his  tones, 

red,  and  was  so 
kneath  the  deck, 

and  ultimately 
pelow  the  cabin, 
fw,  in  answer  to 
Lly  that  he  had 
[ga.  According- 
awing  V9?s  heard 

which  difftred 


from  that  we  at  first  had  heard,  was  at  times  mingled 
with  the  blowing,  until  at  length  both  sounds  became 
distinct,  and  the  old  woman  informed  me  that  Torng^a 
was  come  to  answer  my  questions.     I  accordingly  usked 
several  questions  of  the  sagacious  spirit,  to  each  of 
which  icquiries  1  received  an  answer  by  two  loud  slaps 
on  the  deck,  which  I  was  given  to  understand  were 
favourable.     A  very  hollow,  yet  powerful  voice,  cer* 
lainly  much  different  from  the  tones  of  Toolemak,  now 
chanted  for  some  time,  and  a  strange  jumble  of  hisses, 
groans,  shouts,  and  gabblings  like  a  turkey,  succeeded 
in  rapid  order.     The  old  woman  sang  with  increased 
energy,  and,  as  I  took  it  for  granted  that  this  was  all 
intended  to  astonish  the  Kabloona,  1  cried  repeatedly 
that  I  was  very  much  afraid.     This,  as  I  expected,  ad- 
ded fuel  to  the  tire,  until  the  poor  immortal,  exhausted 
by  its  own  might,  asked  leave  to  retire.     The  voice 
gradually  sank  from  our  hearing  as  at  first,  and  a  very 
indistinct  hissing  succeeded  :  in  its  advance,  it  sounded 
like  the  tone  produced  by  the  wind  on  the  base  chord 
of  an  Eolian  harp ;  this  was  soon  changed  .to  a  rapid 
hiss  lil^e  that  of  a  rocket,  and  Toole  mak  with  a  yell 
announced  his  return.     I   had  held  my  breath  at  the 
first  distant  hissing,  and  twice  exhausted  myself,  yet 
our  conjuror  did  not  once  respire,  and  even  his  return- 
ing and  powerful  yell  was  uttered  without  a  previous 
stop  or  inspiration  of  air. 

Light  being  admitted,  our  wizard,  as  might  be  ex- 
pected, was  in  a  profuse  perspiration,  and  certainly 
l^much  exhausted  by  his  exertions,  which  had  continued 
forat  least  half  an  hour.  We  now  observed  a  couple  of 
I  bunches,  each  consisting  of  two  stripes  of  white  deer- 
skin and  a  long  piece  of  sinew,  attached  to  the  back  of 
his  coat.  These  we  had  not  seen  before,  and  were  in- 
formed that  they  had  been  sewn  on  by  the  Tornga 
I  while  he  was  below. 

I  have  already  said  that  Tooleraak's  spirit  with  whom 

I  he  conferred  on  this  occasion  was  a  female  ;  but  he  has 

OQ  the  whole  no  less  than  ten  superior  beings,  and  a 

countless  host  of  ir-inor  sprites.    With  the  first  ten  hei 


1 


ii  •:? 


f.  § 


■\.  -8 


262 


SUFESSTITIOXS. 


AJj 


I    '', 


!C8 


•5        i 


!  '    '    *!''{ 


^f  3  ''  tf     * 


If'.  ^; 
;  if 


holds  constant  communion,  and  transacts  with  them  all 
business  relative  to  the  health  or  worldly  welfare  of 
those  who  consult  and  pay  him.    The  above  important 
personages  are  thus  named  :  Ay-willi-ay-oo,  or  Nooll- 
ay-oo,  the  female  spirit  of  whose  tonversation  1  have 
spoken  ;  her  father  Napp&-yook,  or  An-now-ta-lig,  of 
whom  more  anon  ;  Pami-oo-li,  a  male  spirit  of  consi< 
derable  importance  ;  06-to6k,  or  Oona-lie,  a  male  of 
a  gigantic  size  ;  Ka-miek,  a  female  ;  Amfig-yoo-a  and 
Atta-na-ghiooa,  two  brothers,  and  as  far  as  i  can  learn 
chief  patrons  of  the  country  about  Amityook  ;  Puck- 
im~na,  a  female  who   lives  in  a  fine  country  far  to  the 
west,  and   who  is  the  immediate  protectress  of  deer, 
which  animals  roam  in  immeniie  herds  round  her  dwel- 
ling ;  a  large  bear,  which  lives  on  the  ice  at  sea,  and 
is  possessed  of  vast  information — he  speaks  like  a  man, 
and  often  meets  with  and  converses  with  the  initiated 
on  their  hunting  excursions  ;  and  the  last  is  Eeghak,  a 
male  of  whom  I  can  obtain  no  informalitmu-    Out  of  this 
host  of  superior  spirits  the  two  first  are   pre-eminent, 
although  the  female  is  decidedly  the  most  important  in 
the  eyes  of  tiie  Eskimaux  generally,  as  well  as  in  the 
opinion  of  her  favourite  votary  Toolemak      This  lady 
is  in  the  first  place  the  mother,  protectress,  and  not  un« 
frequently   the   monopolist  of  sea  animals,   which  she 
sometimes   very  wantonly  confines  below,  and  by  that 
means  causes  a  general  scarcely  in  the   upper  world. 
When  this  is  the  case,  the  annatko  is  persuaded  to  pay 
'".er  a  visit,  and  attempt  the  release  of  the  animals  on 
which  his  tribe  subsipt.     I  know  not  what  ceremonies, 
h    performs  at  the  first  part  of  the  interview;  but  as 
the  spell   by   which  the  animals  are  held  lies  in  the 
hand  of  the  'Enchantress,  the  conjuror  makes  some  bold 
attempts  to  cut  it  off,  and,  according  to   his  success, 
plenty,  more  or  less,  is  obtained.     If  deprived  of  her  j 
nails,  the   bears  obtain  their  freedom ;  amputation  of 
the  first  joint  liberates  the  netyek,  or  small  seal ;  while 
that  of  the  second  loosens  the  ooghiook,  or  larger  kind. 
Should  the  knuckles  be  detached,  whole  herds  of  wr.l| 
rus  rise  to  the  surface  ;  and  should  the  adventurous  an- 


'  (» 


SUPERSTITIONS. 


263 


with  them  all 
lly  welfare  of 
3ve  important 
.00,  or  Nooli- 
rsation  I  have 
-now-ta-lig,  ot 
ipirit  of  consi- 
-Ue,  a  male  of 
mag-yoo-a  and 
[.  as  I  can  learn 
lityook;  Puck- 
mtry  far  to  the 
ctress  of  deer, 
round  her  dwel- 
ice  at  sea,  and 
eaks  like  a  man, 
ith  the  initiated 
astis  Reghak,  a 
•^^^^    Out  of  this 
ire  pre-eminent, 
post  important  in 
18  well  as  in  the 
mak     This  lady 
tress,  and  not  un. 
mals,   which  she 
low,  and  by  that 
he   upper  world. 
persuaded  to  pay 
)f  the  animals  on 
what  ceremonies 
nterview;  but  as 
held  lies  in  the 
makes  some  bold 

^  to  his  success, 
f  deprived  of  her 
n;  amputation  ol 

small  seal ;  while 
ok,  or  larger  k.n 

ole  herds  of  wr.l- 
le  adventurous  an- 


natko  succeed  in  cutting  through  the  lower  part  of  the 
metacarpal  bones,  the  monstrous  whales  are  disenthral- 
led, and  delightedly  join  the  other  creatures   of  the 
deep.     In  addition  to  her  power  over  animals,  Aywil- 
liayoo  has  a  boundless  command  over  the  lives  and  des- 
tinies «f  mankind.     Bad  men  and  women  are  punished 
by  her  in  a  manner  I  shall  presently  describe  ;  and  her 
own  sex  are  afflicted   with  many  disorders,  and  some- 
times killed,  in  consequence  of  their  being  careless  in 
the  regulation  of  their  diet  at  certain  periods,  and  oth- 
erwise neglecting  the  established  customs :  all  women 
therefore  profess  the  utmost  dread  of  this  female  aven- 
ger, but  at  the  same  time  acknowledge  that  st  e  is  very 
good.     Her  house  is  exceedingly  fine,  and  very  like  a 
kablocha  looking-glass  ;  and,  what  is  still  mors  attrac- 
tive to  an  Eskimaux,  it  contains  plenty  of  food,     im- 
mediately within  the  door  of  her  dwelling,  which  has  a 
long  passage  of  entrance,  is  stationed  a  very  large  and  * 
fierce  dog,  which  has  no  tail,  and  whose  hin«ier  quar- 
ters are  black.     This  animal  is  by  some  called  the  hus- 
band, and  by  others  merely  the  dog  of  Aywilliayoo ; 
but  he  is  generally  considered  as  the  father  of  Indians 
and  Kabloona  by  the  conjuress.     This  do^  is  also  one 
of  the  Tornga's  agents  in  the  punishment  of  wicked 
souls  after  death.     Aywilhayoo  is  nmazingly  partial  to 
Toolemak,  and  confers  very  grc  •:  favours  on  him, 
which  he  returns  rather  ung^ra^efuUy,  for  he  willingly 
undertakes  the  defence  of  sucti  sick  women  as  will  pay 
him. 

Aywilliayoo  is  described  1-  her  high-priffst  Toole- 
mak as  being  equally  wonderful  in  her  personal  appear- 
ance as  in  her  actions  She  is  very  tall,  and  has  but 
one  eye,  which  is  the  left,  the  place  of  the  other  being 
covered  by  a  profusion  of  black  hair.  She  has  one 
pigtail  only,  contrary  to  the  established  fashion  in  the 
upper  Eskimaux  world,  which  is  to  wear  one  on  each 
side  the  face,  and  this  is  of  such  immense  ir.agnitude, 
that  a  man  can  scarcely  grasp  it  with  both  hands.  Its 
length  is  exactly  twice  that  of  her  arm,  and  it  descends 
to  her  knee.  The  hood  of  her  jacket  is  always  worn 
up. 


■4 


■     V. 


nn 


264 


SVPEBSTIVKKirs. 


i  > 


di 


.  It  is  somewhat  extraordiDRry  that  the  father  of  this 
female  Polypheme,  who  is  named  Nappayook,  and  is 
the  next  in  point  of  importance,  should  have  but  one 
arm,  the  hand  of  which  is  covered  by  a  very  large  mit- 
ten of  bear-skin.  His  history  agrees  in  many  respects 
with  ths^t  of  the  one-armed  giant  of  the  GreenlanderS ; 
but  in  point  of  size  there  is  a  vast  difference,  Nappa- 
yook  being  no  larger  than  a  boy  often  years  of  age. 
He  bears  the  character  of  a  good,  quiet  sort  of  person, 
and  is  master  of  a  very  nice  house,  which,  however,  is 
not  approachable,  on  account  of  the  vast  herds  of  wal- 
rus lying  round  it,  and  which  with  numerous  bears 
make  a  most  terrific  howling.  Toolemak  acknowlcf'j^- 
ed  very  candidly  that  he  had  never  dared  to  entei  ..us 
mansion,  but  by  looking  through  the  door  he  could  see 
that  it  was  good.  Another  substantial  reason  was  given 
why  no  Eskimaux  cared  to  enter  the  house  of  theTorn- 
ga ;  he  has  nothing  to  eat,  and  does  not  even  require 
it;  in  which  particular  he  differs  widely  from  his  daugh- 
ter, who  has  a  most  voracious  appetite.  I  know  net  if 
;he  is  the  father  of  all  terrestrial  animals,  but  he  is  cer- 
tainly their  patron,  and  withholds  them  at  times  from 
the  Eskimaux.  What  methods  are  taken  to  make  him 
liberate  them  I  know  not^ 

Having  now  been  properly  introduced  to  the  Tornga 
of  my  sapient  atata,  1  took  the  earliest  opportunity  of 
sleeping  at  his  hut,  and  persuading  him  to  perform  his 
ceremonies  to  a  party  of  his  countrymen.  Women  and 
even  young  lads  were  excluded,  and  old  Khiek-o-nekh 
alone  remained.  Amongst  other  preparations,  I  ob- 
served a  man  bring  in  a  hard  bunch  of  moss,  over  which 
a  flat  piece  of  sinew  was  stretched,  and  confined  in  its 
place  by  a  needle  stuck  upright ;  through  its  eye  was 
threaded  a  finer  piece  of  sinew,  which  had  its  ends  tied 
to  the  moss.  This  contrivance  was  delivered  to  the 
old  lady,  who  informed  me  that  it  was  to  be  carried  by 
Toolemak,  as  a  present  to  his  patroness ;  the  moss  | 
being  for  the  lamp,  and  the  sewing  materials  for  mend- 
ing tne  clothes  of  the  spirit.  We  were  no\9  all  arrang- 
ed in  our  places,  and  one  of  the  two  lamps  which  j 


SUPERSTITIONS. 


265 


htber  of  this 
tyook,  and  is 
[lave  but  one 
Bry  large  mit- 
nany  respects 
ireenlanderS ; 
ence,  Nappa- 
years  of  age. 
sort  of  person, 
h,  however,  is 
t  herds  of  wal- 
imerous  bears 
ik  acknowlef'o- 
;d  to  entei  v.ns 
or  he  could  see 
sason  was  given 
ise  of  the  Torn- 
►t  even  require 
from  hi8  daugh- 
1  know  net  if 
is,  but  he  is  cer- 
a  at  times  from 
en  to  make  him 


were  burning  was  put  out ;  the  whole  party  crying  iu 
an  encouraging  voice  "  Ali-ani-ani,"  to  cheer  and  ex- 
pedite the  Annatko.     This  exclamation  \yaa  frequently 
repeated,  and  I  observed  that  each  time  a  wick  was  ex- 
tinguished in  the  remaining  lamp.     Two  or  three  at 
length  were  all  that  remained  alight,  and  the  hut  being 
considerably  darkened,  Toolemak  in  a  loud  voice  began 
calling  Tornga  !    Tornga  !    Pamiooli  !    Pamiooli !    ya 
whoi !  hooi !  hooi !  by  which  time  one  solitary  wick 
ftlcne  remained.     The  old  woman  began  singing,  and 
the  crios  of  encouragement  were  added  to  those  of  the. 
wizard.      An  indescribable  screaming  continued    for 
some  little  time,  until  we  were  informed  that  Tornga 
refused  to  answer,  while  any  light  remained ;  this  was 
i\s  I  expected,  and  we  were  in  instant  darkness.     Too- 
lemak now  set  out  to  bring  the  enchantress.     A  low 
base  voice,  which  those  who  sat  near  me  said  was  that 
of  Tornga,  soon  chanted  the  same  tune,  which  1  had 
heard  on  a  former  occasion.     I  found  that  the  words 
were  unintelligible,  even  to  the  natives.     The  song 
being  finished,  a  variety  of  questions  were  asked  by  the. 
Eskimaux,  in  a  hurried  and  lively  manner,  to  which 
the  spirit  answered  with  great  gravity.     To  the  ques- 
tions relative  to  the  chase,  the  replies  were  not  very 
explicit,  as  it  is  the  policy  of  the  Annatko  to  leave  n 
salvo  for  himself,  whichever  way  the  predictions  may 
be  fultilled  ;  and  Aywilliayoo  sung  in  so  strange  a  man- 
ner, as  to  cause  some  little  difficulty  in  the  interpreta- 
tion of  her  responses.     Cries  of  more  variety  than  I 
can  pretend  to  describe,  and  the  impatient  screams  and 
questions  of  the  men,  with  the  loud  monotonous  song 
oi  the  old  woman,  continued  for  about  half  an  hour  ,• 
the  solitary  and  powerful  chant  of  the  spirit  was  again 
heard,  and  she  retreated  with  the  same  skill  as  before. 
Toolemak,  with  shouts  and  slrange  noises,  soon  join- 
ptl  us,  and  his  return  to  the  world  was  hailed  with  great 
lielight.     A  lamp  being  brought,  the  pale  and  exhaust- 
';{]  Annatko  crawled  from  behind  his  screen,  and  seated 
Mmself  amongst  us. 
1  could  not  but  remark  throughout  the  whole  of  the 
23 


m 


266 


SVPEBSTITIONS. 


«     II 


performance,  which  lasted  about  an  hour  and  a  half, 
the  wonderful  steadiness  of  our  wizard,  who,  during  his 
most  violent  exertions  of  voice,  did  not  once  appear  to 
move ;  for  had  he  done  so,  I  was  so  close  to  the  skin 
behind  which  he  sat,  that  I  must  have  perceived  it. 
Neither  did  1  hear  any  rustling  of  his  clothes,  or  even 
distinguish  his  breathing,  although  his  outcriet  were 
made  with  great  exertion.  Once  however,  and  once 
only,  a  short  cough,  barely  audible  even  to  me,  occur- 
red while  the  old  man  was  supposed  to  be  in  the  other 
world. 

Exhibitions  such  as  I  have  described  are  not  of  com- 
mon  occurrence^  and  of  course  by  their  rarity  are  ren- 
dered of  greater  importance.  There  is  much  rivalship 
amongst  the  professors,  who  do  not  however  expose 
each  other^  secrets,  b^rt  are  very  mysterious  or  silent 
when  spoken  to  on  the  subject. 

In  healing  sickness,  or  curing  wounds,  the  most  ef- 
fectual remedy  is  to  blow  on  the  person  or  part  affected^ 
at  the  same  time  muttering  or  chanting  certain  words. 
Whatever  is  done  by  these  national  practitioners  is  en- 
titled to  a  reward,  which  is  very  strictly  exacted,  whe- 
ther good  or  ill  betide  the  patient.  In  addition  to  the 
superstitions  supported  by  the  Annatkos,  which  "upply 
the  place  of  religious  tenets  amongst  thp  Eskimaux, 
there  are  ""arious  independent  and  extraordinary  fan- 
cies diffe  log  in  every  individual. 

Bones  and  teeth  of  animals,  hanging  as  solitary  pen- 
dants, or  strung  in  great  numbers,  have  peculiar  vir- 
tues, and  the  bones  of  the  feet  of  the  Ka-bli-a-ghioo, 
which  I  imagine  to  be  the  wolverine,  are  the  most  in 
.  equest.  The  front  teeth  of  musk  oxen  are  considered 
as  jewels,  while  the  grinders,  one  or  two  together,  are 
much  est,«jemed  as  tassels  for  the  strings  used  to  tic  up 
the  breeches  of  the  women.  Eye  teeth  of  foxes  arc 
sometimes  seen  to  the  number  of  hundreds,  neatly  per- 
forated and  arranged  as  a  kind  of  fringe  round  caps  or 
dresses,  and  even  the  bones  and  teeth  of  fish  have  their 
value. 

Leather  cases  of  the  size  of  a  quill,  and  containing 


->> 


^ — 


SUPEBSTITI017S. 


26r 


>  and  a  half, 
10,  during  his 
ice  appear  to 
e  to  the  skin 
perceived  it. 
•thes,  or  even 
mtcriei  were 
irer,  and  once 
to  me,  occur- 
e  in  the  other 

re  not  of  com- 
rarity  are  ren- 
much  rivalship 
wever  expose 
jrious  or  silent 

s,  the  most  ef- 
3r  part  affected^ 
f  certain  words. 
ptitioners  is  en- 
r  exacted,  whe- 
addition  to  the 
5,  which  -upply 
h#»  Eskimaux, 
raordinary  fan- 
as  solitary  pen- 
jre  peculiar  vir- 
Ka-bli-a-ghioo, 
are  the  most  in 
are  considered 

0  together,  arc 

1  used  to  tic  up 
jth  of  foxes  are 
•eds,  neatly  per- 
•e  round  caps  or 
if  fish  have  theiv 

,  and  containing 


small  pieces  of  deeFs  or  other  flesh,  are  frequently  at- 
tached to  the  caps  or  hoods  of  children  ;  but  whether 
to  render  them  expert  hunters,  or  to  preserve  their 
health,  I  could  not  discover.  I  was  assured  that  bro 
ken  spear-heads,  and  other  equally  cumbrous  pendants, 
worn  round  the  necks  of  young  girls,  were  spells  for 
the  preservation  of  their  chastity ;  while  the  same  or- 
naments caused  the  married  women  to  be  prolific. 

The  superstitions  of  the  sick  appeared  to  be  more 
directed  by  caprice  than  established  custom ;  nor  did 
they  follow  any  particular  rule  either  as  to  diet  or 
conduct. 

Widcvrs  are  forbidden,  for  six  months,  to  taste  ot 
unboiled  Sesh ;  they  wear  no  toogleegas  or  pigtails ; 
and  cut  ott*  a  large  portion  of  their  long  hair  in  token 
of  grief,    while   the   remaining  locks    hang  in  loose 
disorder  about  their  shoulders.     No  punishment,  how- 
ever, is  threatened  to  those  who  do  not  thus  disfigure 
themselves ;  and  a  pretty  widow  at  Igloolik  cut  so  small 
a  portion  from  her  tresses,  of  whose   length  she  was 
very  proud,  that  the  absence  of  toogleegas  alone  deno- 
ted her  situation.     After  six  months  the  disconsolate 
ladies  are  at  liberty  to  eat  raw  meat,  to  dress  their 
pigtails,  and  to  marry  as  fast  as  they  please ;  while  in 
the  mean  time  they  either  cohabit  with  their  future 
husbands,  if  they  have  one,  or  distribute  their  favours 
more  generally.     A  widower  and   his  children  remain 
during  three  days  within  the  hut  where  his  wife  died, 
after  which  it  is  customary  to  remove  to  another.     He 
is  not  allowed  to  fish  or  hunt  for  a  whole  season,  or  in 
that  period  to  marry  again.     During  the  three  days  of 
lamentation,  all  the  relatives  of  the  deceased  are  quite 
careless  of  their  dre?s,  their  hair  hangs   wildly  about, 
and,  if  possible,  they    are   more  than   usually    dirty 
,ia  their  persons.     All  visitors  to  a  mourning  family 
consider  it  as  indispensably  necessary  to  howl  at  their 
I  first  entry,  and  abundance  of  tears  are  shed  for  about 
the  space  of  a  minute  by  the  women;  after  which 
they  all  recover  themselves  ;  begin  to  talk  of  indiffer- 
ent matters,  and  to  eat  whatever  is  at  hand.    The  pre- 


m 


W: 


ioa 


'        Si 


It 


5268 


SUFEBSTITIOirS. 


sence  of  the  dead  body  does  not  at  all  distress  them ; 
and  I  once  saw  them  place  their  plate  of  meat  on  a  lit- 
tle dead  child,  which  lay  wrapped  within  a  blanket  in 
my  cabin. 

Superstitions  relating  to  children  and  pregnant  wo- 
men are  but  iew  ;  yet  of  these  1  have  scarcely  collect- 
ed half  It  is  customary  in  many  cases  to  name  the 
child  before  it  is  born ;  son>e  relative  or  friend  laying 
their  hand  on  the  mother's  atomach,  and  deciding  what 
the  infant  is  to  be  called,  and,  as  the  same  names  serve 
for  either  sex,  it  is  of  no  consequence  whether  it  proves 
a  girl  or  a  boy.  When  a  child  is  born,  the  mother 
lierself  cuts  the  navel-string  with  a  stone  spear-head. 
and  swathes  the  infant's  body  with  the  dried  intestine 
of  some  animal.  After  a  few  days,  or  according  to  the 
fancy  of  the  parents,  an  annatko,  who  by  relationship 
or  long  acquaintance  is  a  fritnd  of  the  family,  makes 
use  of  some  vessel,  and  with  the  urine  the  mother 
washes  the  infant,  while  all  the  gossips  around  pour 
forth  their  good  wishes  for  the  little  one  to  prove  an 
active  man,  if  a  boy,  or,  if  a  girl,  the  mother  of  plenty 
of  children.  This  ceremony  I  believe  is  never  omit- 
ted, and  is  called  kok-shioo-wa-ri-wa. 

I'he  dead  are  in  most  cases  carried  through  the  win- 
dow, in  preference  to  the  door  of  a  snow  hut,  which, 
after  the  three  days  of  mourning  have  expired,  is  for- 
saken, at  least  by  the  family  of  which  the  deceased  had 
formed  a  part.  The  body  is  always  decently  dressed 
in  its  best  clothes;  and  those  who  perform  this  office 
put  on  their  gloves,  and  stop  their  nostrils  with  skin  or 
hair.  A  man  or  two  then  drag  the  corpse  along  the  ground 
to  the  place  where  it  is  to  be  buried,  where  it  is  theni 
laid  on  its  back.  A  sledge  is  never  used  on  these  oc- 
casions, and  all  the  dogs  are  tied  up  ;  but  they  may  af- 
terwards go  and  dis-inter  the  body,  and  devour  it  unin- 
terruptedly, it  being  only  slightly  covered  over  with  I 
.snow  in  winter,  and  in  summer  but  little  better  shelter- 
ed by  a  few  stones.  It  is  customary  to  place  weapciisl 
at  the  grave  of  a  man ;  cooking-pots,  beads,  knives, 
&c.  are  in  the  saoae  manner  laid  near  that  of  a  woman,! 


8i7FBsgTm<»rs; 


&69 


listress  them ; 
meat  on  a  lit- 
n  a  blanket  in 

pregnant  wo- 
arcely  coUect- 
;  to  name  the 
•  friend  laying 
deciding  what 
\e  names  serve 
ether  it  proves 
n,  the  mothei 
ne  spear-head. 
dried  intestine 
iccordmg  to  the 
by  relationship 
e  family,  makes 
me  the  mother 
ps  around  pour 
one  to  prove  an 
nother  of  plenty 
;  is  never  omit- 

hrough  the  win- 
inow  hut,  which, 
J  expired,  is  for- 
the  deceased  had 
decently  dressed 
rform  this  office 
trils  with  skin  or 
along  the  ground  I 
where  it  is  then 
sed  on  these  oc- 
but  they  may  al- 
id  devour  it  uoin- 
ivered   over  with 
le  better  shelter- 
to  place  weapciib 
s,  beads,  knives, 
that  ofa  womaR, 


and  are  never  removed.  It  is  eitraordinarj,  that  with 
this  apparent  attention,  the  Eskimaux  are  quite  regard- 
less of  the  body  when  it  has  once  been  covered;  and 
the  nearest  relations  will  not  cover  it  again,  even  if 
they  see  that  the  dogs  have  dug  up  and  are  devouring 
it:  this  we  have  known  to  be  actually  the  case. 

It  was  long  before  I  learnt  that  there  was  a  rule  for 
laying  the  bodies  of  the  dead,  according  to  their  age. 
Infants  have  their  feet  placed  towards,  the  rising  sun, 
or  east ;  half-grown  children,  south-east ;  men  and  wo- 
men in  their  prime,  with  their  feet  to  the  meridian  sun ; 
middle  aged  persons,  lo  the  south-west;  and  very  old 
people,  the  reverse  of  children,  or  west. 

The  survivors  visit  the  graves,  at  least  some  few 
have  been  observed  to  do  so,  and  talk  with  the  deceas- 
ed, who  they  suppose  listens  attentively  to  all  that  is 
said.  The  usual  way  is  to  walk  round  the  grave  in  the 
direction  of  the  sun,  and  to  chant  forth  inquiries  as  to 
the  welfare  of  the  departed  soul ;  whether  it  has  reached 
Aad-lee,  or  the  land  of  spirits  ?  if  it  has  plenty  of  food  ? 
&c.  kc. ;  at  each  question  stopping  at  the  head  of  the 
grave,  and  repeating  Man-nuk-le-roo,  Tee-wug-loo- 
maan  (slowly  spoken) — Ay-putt-pa-ghit?  Ay-putt-pft- 
ghit?  (very  rapidly  spoken). 

No  kind  of  religious  worship  exists  amongst  these 
poor  people ;  and  the  only  thing  approaching  to  it  was 
what  I  observed  once  or  twice  when  the  natives  slept 
in  any  number  in  my  cabin,  and  frequently  when  I  pass- 
ed the  night  in  their  huts ;  this  was,  that  one  of  the 
senior  men  no  sooner  awoke  in  the  morning,  than  he 
commenced  a  low  monotonous  song  while  he  yet  lay 
in  bed,  and  1  nevir  heard  a  woman  or  young  person 
do  this,  or  join  in  the  chant. 

No  traces  of  any  kind  of  idolatrous  worship  are  to 
I  be  met  with,  a^^  might  have  been  expected  from  the 
accounts  of  our  early  navigators :  the  little  figures  of 
Irery,  wood,  &c.  which  we  found  with  our  Eskimaux, 
and  which  agree  with  the  accounts  given  of  the  ^'  littej 
images''  found  by  old  Davis  and  others,  being  only  toys 
{or  ornaments,  cut  for  the  amusement  of  the  children. 
23  * 


«... 


270 


SVPBRSTITI0N8. 


7* 


With  all  their  yarying  and  fanciful  customs  and 
charms,  the  Eskimaux  ho  "f  a  straight-forward  account 
of  a  future  state,  in  whi  W  all  believe,  and  respecting 
which  none  vary.  There  are  two  places  appointed  to 
receive  the  souls  of  the  good  :  one  of  these  is  in  the 
centre  of  the  earth,  the  other  in  kftyl-yak  or  heaven. 
To  the  latter  place,  such  as  are  drowned  at  sea,  starv- 
ed to  death,  murdered,  or  kil'  "  by  walruses  or  bears, 
are  instantly  wafted,  and  dw  iH  a  charming  country, 
which,  however,  has  never  be^n  seen  by  any  annatko. 
In  this  higher  world  are  numerous  torngas,  of  whom 
the  conjurors  have  not  much  knowledge ;  two  are  su- 
perior to  the  rest ;  the  first  is  named  Khioo-w66-khiak, 
and  is  a  great  and  powerful  spirit. — The  next  tornga  in 
power  is  named  Tat-kuk,  which  is  also  an  appellation 
of  the  moon,  and  is  well  known  to  the  Eskimaux  of 
both  sexes ;  he  has  a  great  many  dogs,  and  an  im- 
mense sledge,  on  which  he  goes  and  hunts  bears,  wal- 
ruses, deer,  &c.  in  the  same  manner  as  the  mortals  be- 
low. He  seems  to  be  a  good  familiar  kind  of  spirit,  or 
'^  Robin  Goodfellow,"  in  his  way ;  for  he  frequently 
comes  to  the  huts  unasked,  and  talks  with  the  native?, 
when  it  is  dark :  should  they  wish  to  get  rid  of  him, 
they  blow  into  their  hands,  and  off  he  flies.  1  be- 
lieve that  this  tornga  is  often  blamed  for  irregularities 
in  which  he  has  no  manner  of  concern ;  and  that,  from 
a  kind  of  half  confession  of  my  informant,  the  women 
frequently  lay  the  blame  on  him  when  they  are  detect- 
ed in  any  improprieties. 

The  place  of  souls  in  the  world  below  is  called 
Aad-le&  generally  ;  but  there  are,  properly,  four  dis- 
tinct states  of  blessedness,  and  each  rank  has  a  world 
to  itself,  the  lowest  land  being  the  last  and  best,  which 
all  hope  to  reach.  The  day  on  which  a  good  person 
dies  and  is  buried,  the  soul  goes  to  a  land  immediately 
under  the  visible  world ;  and,  still  descending,  it  ar- 
rives the  second  day  at  one  yet  lower ;  the  third  day  it 
goes  farther  yet ;  and  on  the  fourth  it  finds, 

«  Below  the  lowest  deep,  a  deeper  stilU" 


SITPEKBTITIONS. 


271 


stoma  and 
rd  account 
respecting 
>pointed  to 
96  is  in  tiie 
or  heaven. 
t  sea,  starv- 
es or  bears, 
ng  country, 
ny  annatko. 
is,  of  whom 
two  are  su- 
i-w66-khiak, 
ext  tornga  in 
I  appellation 
Eskimaux  oi 
and  an  im- 
i  bears,  wal- 
B  mortals  be- 
1  of  spirit,  or 
te  frequently 
i  the  natives, 
t  rid  of  him, 
flies.  I  be- 
irregularities 
ind  that,  from 
,  the  women 
ey  are  detect- 

ow  is  called 
eily,  four  dis- 
k  has  a  world 
id  best,  which 
a  good  person 
I  immediately 
icending,  it  ar- 
le  third  day  it 


This  is  the  ^'  good  land ;"  and  the  soul  which  reaches 
it  is  for  ever  happy.  The  three  first  stages  are  bad 
uncomfortable  places ;  lor  in  each  the  sky  is  so  close 
to  the  earth  that  a  man  cannot  walk  erect :  yet  these 
regions  are  inhabited  ;  and  the  good  soul,  in  passing 
through  them,  sees  multitudes  of  the  dead,  who,  hav- 
ing lost  their  way,  or  who,  not  being  entitled  to  the 
"  good  land,"  are  always  wandering  about  and  in  great 
distress.  Whether  these  i  tppy  souls  are  in  purga- 
tory or  not,  I  was  unable  n\ ;  but  they  suffer  no 
other  pain  than  what  *  call  the  "  fidgets." 
In  the  lowest  Aadlee  a  .aid  delightful  sum- 
mer prevails;  the  sun  n<  .s,  but  performs  one 
unceasing  round;  ice  and  snow  are  unknown;  the  land 
is  covered  with  perpetual  verdure,  fine  sorrel  grows 
every  where,  and  the  dwarf  willow  is  found  in  abun- 
dance for  firing ;  the  large  lakes  of  fresh  water  abound 
with  fish,  and  the  tents  of  the  "  souls "  are  pitched 
along  their  banks ;  the  sea  is  always  clear,  and  whales 
roll  about  in  so  tame  a  state,  that  the  male  souls  have 
only  to  go  out  in  their  kayaks,  harpoon  the  one  they 
want,  and  tow  it  to  the  shore  ;  deer  and  birds  range 
within  bow-shot  of  the  tents,  and  arc  killed  as  requi- 
site ;  thus  universal  and  eternal  feasting  and  jollity  pre- 
vail, and  the  whole  time  of  the  souls  is  occupied  in  the 
I'avourite  amusements  of  eating,  singing,  dancing,  and 
sleeping. 

As  far  as  I  could  learn,  the  reason  for  placing  wea- 
pons and  useful  utensils  near  graves  is  that  their  souls 
may  be  used  by  their  former  owners  in  the  other  world. 


,."^.. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


■  2.2 


us 


2.0 


I 


1.25  1 1.4   III  1.6 

^5     llill^    lllll^ 

^ 

6"     

^ 

PhotDgraphic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


«0^ 


\ 


-^^ 


<^ 


23  WIST  MAIN  STRIIT 

WnSTM.N.Y.  MSM 

(716)S72-4S03 


sra 


BEABS. 


•J'!j, 


CHAPTER  X. 

New  year's  day — Anecdotes  of  bears — The  sun  returns — Drift 
wood — A  sick  woman  and  child — They  die — Visit  to  the  grave 
—Man  eaten  by  dogs — Kagha — Her  death — A  tiieft — Visit  dis- 
tant huts — Specimens  of  eating — Scurvy — Death  of  Mr.  Elder — 
Arrangements  for  Fury  to  remain  another  year — Toolemak 
drunk — Appearance  of  vegetation — Strangers  arrive — Vanity  of 
a  woman — Togorlat's  death — Toolemak  takes  leave. 

A.  D.  1823. — New  Year's  Day  was,  as  might  have 
been  expected,  welcomed  by  us  all,  even  with  the  cer- 
tainty that  many  tedious  months  must  yet  pass  away  be- 
fore the  slightest  change  could  be  perceptible  on  the 
snow-cqvered  land. 

My  friend  Ooyarra  slept  in  my  cabin,  and  as  he 
never  |))aid  me  a  visit  without  giving  some  interesting 
information,  I  was  on  this  occasion  also  treated  with 
some  curious  stories.  Amongst  others,  he  related  seve- 
ral anecdotes  of  the  sagacity  of  bears,  of  which  ani- 
mals he  had  himself,  though  a  very  young  man,  killed 
five,  and  three  out  of  that  number  unassisted  by  other 
Eskimaux.  On  one  occasion  he  saw  a  bear  swim  cau- 
tiously to  a  large  rough  piece  of  ice,  on  which  two 
female  walruses  were  l>ing  asleep  with  their  cubs. 
The  wily  animal  crept  up  some  hummocks  behind  this 
party,  and  with  his  fore  feet  loosened  a  large  block  of 
ice  ;  this,  with  the  help  of  his  nose  and  paws,  he  rolled 
and  carried  until  immediately  over  the  heads  of  the 
sleepers,  when  he  let  it  fall  on  one  of  the  old  animals, 
which  was  instantly  killed.  The  other  walrus  with  its 
cub  rolled  into  the  water,  but  the  young  one  of 
the  stricken  female  remained  hy  its  dam  ;  on  this  help- 
less creature  the  bear  now  leaped  down,  and  thus  com 
pleted  the  destruction  ot  two  animals,  which  it  would 
not  have  ventured  to  attack  openly.  This  account 
seemed  so  very  wonderful,  that  few  who  heard  it  hesi- 
tated to  declare  it  false  ;  but  for  Ooyarra's  credit  I  af- 
terwards met  with  a  little  book  written  by  a  Mr.  Laiog, 


BEARS. 


273 


in  returns — Drift 
Visit  to  the  grave 
.  tlieft— Visit  dis- 
ith  of  Mr.  Elder- 
year — Toolemak 
arrive—Vanity  of 
leave. 

as  might  have 
n  with  the  cer- 
it  pass  away  be- 
ceptible  on  the 

abin,  and  as  he 
ioine  interesting 
Iso  treated  with 
he  related  seve- 
,,  of  which  ani- 
pung  man,  killed 
Assisted  by  other 
bear  swim  can- 
I,  on  which  two 
with  their  cubs. 
locks  behind  this 
a  large  block  of 
d  paws,  he  rolled 
le  heads  of  the 
the  old  animals, 
;r  walrus  with  its 
young    one    of 
im  ;  on  this  help- 
vn,  and  thus  com- 
s,  which  it  would 
LT.    This  account 
vho  heard  it  hesi- 
rarra's  credit  1  al- 
n  by  a  Mr.  Laiog, 


surgeon  of  a  whaler,  in  which  was  a  quotation  from  the 
''Fauna  GraBnlandica"  of  Fabricius,  which  gives  a  cor- 
responding account,  that  "  in  the  combats  between 
bears  and  walruses,  the  former  frequently  obtam  the 
victory,  by  taking  large  masses  of  ice  and  dashing  them 
against  the  heads  of  their  opponents." 

The  stratagems  practised  in  taking  the  ooghiook,  or 
large  seal,  are  not  much  less  to  he  admired.     These 
creatures  are  remarkably  timid,  and  for  that  reason 
always  lie  to  bask  or  sleep  on  the  very  edge  of  the 
pieces  of  floating  ice,  so  that  on  the  slightest  alarm 
they  can,  by  one  roll,  tumble  themsehes  into  their 
favourite  element.     They  are  extremely  restless,  con- 
stantly moving  their  head  from  side  to  side,  and  sleep- 
ing by  very  .nort  naps.     As  with  all  wild  creatures, 
they  turn  their  attention  to  the  direction  of  the  wind, 
as  if  expecting  danger  from  that  quarter.     The  bear, 
onseemg  his  intended  prey,  gets  quietly  into  the  water, 
and  swims  until  to  leeward  of  him,  from  whence,  by 
frequent  short  dives,  he  silently  makes  his  approaches, 
and  so  arranges  his  distance,  that  at  the  last  dive  he 
comes  up  to  the  spot  where  the  seal  is  lying.     If  the 
poor   animal  attempts  to   escape  by  rolling   into  the 
water,  he  falls  into  the  bear's  clutches  ;  if,  on  the  con- 
trary, he  lies   still,    his  destroyer   makes  a  powerful 
spring,  kills  him  on  the  ice,  and  devours  him  at  leisure. 
From  Ooyarrakhioo,  a  most  intelligent  trian,  1  obtain- 
ed an  account  of  the  bear,  which  is  too  interesting  to  be 
passed  over. 

At  the  commencement  of  winter  the  pregnant  she- 
bears  are  very  fat,  and  always  solitary.  When  a  hea- 
vy fall  of  snow  sets  in,  the  animal  seeks  some  hollow 
place  in  which  she  can  lie  down,  and  then  remains 
quiet  while  the  snow  covers  her  Sometimes  .^he  will 
wait  until  a  quantity  of  snow  has  fallen,  and  then  digs 
herself  a  cave;  at  all  events  it  seems  necessary  that 
I  she  should  be  covered  by  or  lie,  amongst  snow.  She 
I  now  goes  to  sleep,  and  does  not  awake  until  the  spring 
I  BUD  is  pretty  high,  when  she  brings  forth  her  two 
cubs.  The  cafe  by  this  time  has  become  much  larger, 


s 


'I 


i 


I    n 


I 
i 


274 


THE    SUN  BETUBNS. 


Ifn?^ 


by  the  effect  of  the  animars  warmth  and  breath,  so 
that  the  cubs  have  room  enough  to  move,  and  they 
acquire  considerable  strength  by  continually  sucking. 
The  dam  at  length  becomes  so  thin  and  weak,  that 
it  is  with  great  difficulty  she  extricates  herself  wheti 
the  sun  is  powerful  enough  to  throw  a  strong  glare 
through  the  snow  which  roofs  the  den.  The  Eskimaux 
affirm,  that  during  this  long  confinement  the  bear  has 
no  evacuations,  and  is  herself  the  means  of  preventing 
them  by  stopping  all  the  natural  passages  with  moss, 
grass,  or  earth.  'J' he  natives  find  and  kill  the  bears 
during  their  confinement  by  means  of  dogs,  which 
scent  them  tbrough  the  snow,  and  begin  scratching 
and  howling  very  eagerly.  As  it  would  be  unsafe  to 
make  a  large  opening,  a  long  trench  is  cut,  of  sufficient 
width  to  enable  a  man  to  look  down  and  see  where  the 
beards  head  lies,  and  he  then  selects  a  mortal  part  into 
which  he  thursts  his  spear.  The  old  one  being  killed, 
the  hole  is  broken  open,  and  the  young  cubs  may  be 
taken  out  by  hand,  as,  having  tasted  no  blood,  and 
never  having  been  at  liberty,  they  are  then  very 
harmless  and  quiet.  Females,  which  are  not  pregnant, 
roam  throughout  the  whole  winter  in  the  same  mannei 
as  the  males.     The  coupling  time  is  in  May. 

Toonoonegh  is  one  of  the  most  famous  places  for 
obtaining  bears  in  the  above-mentioned  manner. 

During  the  last  w<^ek  about  fifty  persons  removed  I 
to  north-east   ice,  i        der  to  be  nearer  the  sealing] 
place,  and  other  fam.   ...i  were  also  preparing  to  depart, 
Above  twenty  hungry  wretches  came  to  the  ships  for  | 
food,  although  a  heavy  gale  and  thick  drift  was  blow* 
ing  in  their  faces. 

On  the  11th,  one  of  the  officers  reported  having! 
seen  the  sun  from  the  western  point  of  Igloolik.    We, 
however  saw  nothing  of  it  at  the  ships,  though  fortjj 
days  had  now  elapsed  since  it  left  us. 

For  some  days  past  the  weather  bad  undergone  al 
most  extraordinary  change,  the  temperature  being  ge^l 
nerally  above  zero,  and  sometimes  even  as  high  asl 
18°.  and  24°.    The  air  was  thick,  but  at  the  same  time 


DBIFT  WOOD. 


275 


nd  breath,  so 
lOve,  and  they 
niially  sucking, 
ind  weak,  that 
I  herself  when 
a  strong  glare 
The  Eskimaux 
ot  the  bear  has 
la  of  preventing 
ges  with  moss, 
J  kill  the  bears 


of  dogs, 


which 


begin  scratching 
aid  be  unsafe  to 

cut,  of  sufficient 
id  see  where  the 

mortal  part  into 

one  being  killed, 
■ing  cubs  may  be 
sd  no  blood,  and 
^  are  then  very 
ire  not  pregnant, 

the  same  manner 

in  May. 

famous  places  tor 

sd  manner, 
persons  removed 

,arer  the  sealing 

eparing  to  depart. 
e  to  the  ships  foi 
k  drift  was  blow* 

reported  having 
oflgloolik.  We, 
iips,  though  forty 

had  undergone  a 
)erature  being  ge* 

IS  even  as  high"* 
itatthc«a»etime 


highly  favourable  to  the  hunting  affairs  of  the  Eski- 
mauX)  who  killed  several  walruses  and  seals.  The 
great  abundance  of  food  which  now  succeeded  a  long 
scarcity  led  us  to  dread  that  some  fatal  disorders,  inci- 
dent to  over-eating,  might  be  brought  on  amongst  the 
natives,  several  of  them  being  found  on  the  first  day 
to  have  crammed  to  such  a  degree  as  to  be  in  great 
pain,  and  rolling  themselves  about  to  procure  relief. 

On  the  19th  the  wind  shifted,  the  thermometer  fell 
below  zero,  and  the  sky  became  beautifully  clear,  so 
that  the  sun  rose  with  great  splendour  at  about  half- 
past  ten.     We  were  all  at  church  at  the  time,  on  board 
the  Fury ;  but  the  service  was  no  sooner  over  than 
we  hastened    up    to   enjoy  a  view  of  the    returning 
light.     We  had  not  seen  the  sun  at  the  time  it  should 
properly  have  appeared,  the  forty-second  day  from  its 
setting,  in  consequence  of  the  thick  weather,  so  that 
forty-nine  days  had  now  elapsed  since  it  had  last  shone 
on  us.    The  poor  Eskimaux  were  no  less  delighted 
than  ourselves  at  its  appearance,  and  on  this  morning 
all  faces  were  as  gay  and  cheerful  as  the  bright  scene 
around. 
On  the  21st,  I  "trove  to  the  village  to  see  the  poor 
wretches  who  still  continued  ill,  and  found  the  huts 
|the  picture  of  ruin  and  misery,  above  a  hundred  people 
aving  removed  to  the  sea-ice.     While  going  about  the 
uts  we  found  in  one  of  them  a  kind  of  beam  of  drift- 
ood,  which  was  the  first  we  had  seen.     It  was  of  fir, 
itber  decayed,  about  two  feet  in  circumference,  and 
i?e  in  length.     The  natives  said  it  had  been  washed  on 
ore  at  Nerli-nak-to,  an  island  adjoining  Igloolik  to 
Ihe  westward,  a  summer  or  two  before. 
Mr.  McLaren  accompanied  me  on  the  22nd  to  see 
e  sick,  and  we  carried  to  T&kk&-likki-ta's  wife  and 
,  the  former  of  whom  was  in  a  very  dangerous 
late,  some  arrow  root  and  a  blanket,  which  afforded 
lem  great  comfort :  their  only  covering  bad  been  a 
rap  old  deer-skin,  beneath  which  they  lay  cold  and 
ked.    In  hopes  of  saving  their  lives  1  took  them  on 
ard,  and  having  screened  off  a  portion  of  my  cabin, 
ve  them  the  quiet  possession  of  it. 


i 


ifi 


276 


SICK  lYOMAir. 


On  the  morning  of  the  24th  the  woman  appeared 
considerably  improved,  and  she  both  spoke  and  ate  a 
little,  but  in  the  course  of  the  day  she  expired.  I  de- 
termined on  burying  her  at  Arn-ko-ft-khiak,  a  point  of 
Igiooiik,  and  the  husband  was  much  pleased  at  my 
promising  that  the  body  should  be  drawn  on  a  sledge 
by  men,  instead  of  dogs ;  for  to  our  infinite  horror, 
Takkalikkita  had  told  us  that  dogs  had  eaten  part  of 
Kaimcokhiak,  and  that  when  he  left  the  huts  with  his 
wife  on?  was  devouring  the  body  as  he  passed  it, 
Takkalikkita  now  prepared  to  dress  the  corpse,  and 
in  the  first  place  stopped  his  nose  with  deer's  hair, 
and  put  on  his  gloves,  seeming  unwilling  that  his 
naked  hand  should  come  in  contact  with  it.  i  obserr- 
tid  in  this  occupation  his  care  that  every  article  of] 
dress  should  be  as  carefully  placed  as  when  his  wife 
was  living,  and  having  by  mistake  drawn  the  boots  on 
the  wrong  legs,  he  pulled  them  off  again,  and  arranged 
them  properly.  This  ceremony  finished,  the  deceased 
was  sewed  up  in  a  hammock,  and  at  the  husband'sl 
urgent  request  her  face  was  left  uncovered.  An  offi-l 
cer,  who  was  present  at  the  time,  agreed  with  mc  inl 
fancying  that  Takkalikkita,  from  his  words  and  actions,! 
intimated  a  wish  that  the  living  child  might  be  enclos'f 
ed  with  its  mother.  We  might  perhaps  have  been] 
mistaken,  but  there  is  an  equal  probability  that  we[ 
were  right  in  our  conjecture  ;  for  according  to  Crantzl 
and  Egede,  the  Greenlanders  are,  or  were,  in  the  hnbit[ 
of  burying  their  motherless  infants,  from  a  persuasioa 
that  they  must  othenvise  starve  to  death,  and  also 
from  being  unable  to  bear  the  cries  of  the  little  one^ 
while  lingering  for  several  days  without  sustenance. 

My  dogs  being  carefully  tied  up,  a  party  of  our  peoj 
pie,  myself  accompanying  them,  drew  the  body  to  tbef 
shore,  where  we  made  a  grave  about  a  foot  deep,  bej 
ing  unable  to  get  lower,  in  consequence  of  the  frozeif 
earth.  It  was  placed  on  its  back,  at  the  husband^s  de 
sire,  and  he  then  stepped  into  the  grave  and  cut  alltJij 
stitches  of  the  hammock,  though  without  throwinj 
it  open,  seeming  to  imply  that  the  dead  should  be  lefj 


A  CHILD  DIES. 


^77 


•man  appeared 
>oke  and  ate  a 
expired.    1  de- 
tiiak,  a  point  of 
pleased  at  my 
twn  on  a  sledge 
infinite  horror, 
J  eaten  part  of 
he  huts  with  his 
as  he  passed  it. 
the  corpse,  and 
vith  deer's  hair, 
iwiUing  that  his 
ith  it.     I  observ- 
every  article  ot 
^s  when  his  wife 
awn  the  boots  on 
rain,  and  arranged 
hed,  the  deceased 
at  the  husbands 
^covered.     An  offi- 
greed  with  me  in 
words  and  actions, 
I  might  be  enclos- 
erhaps  have  been 
.robability  that  we 
according  to  Crantz 
were,  in  the  hnbi« 
,,  from  a  persuasioi 
o   death,  and  als 
's  of  the  little  onei 
ithout  sustenance. 
a  party  of  our  pea 
'wthe  body  to  h 
jut  a  foot  deep,  W 
ence  of  the  i;rozef 
t  the  husband  s  d 
traveandcutallUi 
,  without  thrown 
Idead  should  be  le' 


onconfined.    I  laid  an  ooloo  by  the  woman's  side,  and 
we  filled  up  the  grave,  piling  over  it  a  quantity  of 
heavy  stones  which  no  animal  could  remove.    Vnien 
all  was  done,  and  we  were  on  our  return  to  the  ship, 
the  man  lingered  a  few  moments  behind  us,  and  re- 
peated two  or  three  sentences,  as  if  addressing  himself 
to  bis  departed  wife :  he  then  silently  followed  us. 
We  found  Sheega  quite  composed,  and  attending  her 
little  sister,  between  whose  eyebrows  she  had  made  a 
spot  with  soot,  in  token  that,  being  nnweaned,  it  must 
certainly  die.    I  did  all  in  my  power  to  persuade  the 
father  that  it  might  stilllive,  if  carefully  attended  and 
regularly  fed  with  soup  ;  but  be  paid  very  little  atten- 
tion to  me,  and  ultimately  left  the  chiid  to  my  discre- 
tloQ,  saying,  that  since  I  had  now  alopted  it  as  my 
daughter,  1  might  take  it  to  my  country,  or  do  as  I 
pleased  with  it,  for  it  was  no  longer  h.8,  whether  it  liy* 
ed  or  died. 

After  my  party  bad  retired  to  sleep,  I  heard,  occa- 
tionally,  loud  sighing,  and  on  lifting  the  curtains  saw 
Takkalikkita  standing  and  looking  mournfully  at  bit 
tick  child.     I  endeavoured  to  compose  him,  and  he 
promised  to  go  to  bed ;  but  hearing  him  again  sighing, 
in  a  few  minutes  I  went  and  found  that  the  poor  infant 
had  expired,  and  that  its  father  had  been  some  time 
aware  of  it.    He  now  told  me,  that  it  bad  seen  its  mo- 
ther the  last  time  it  called  on  her,  and  that  she  had 
beckoned  it  to  Shil-1&  (heaven,)  on  which  it  instantly 
died.    He  said  it  was  good  that  the  child  was  gone ; 
that  no  children  outlived  their  mothers ;  and  that  the 
black  spot,  which  Sheega  had  renewed,  was  quite  suffi- 
cient to  ensure  the  death  of  the  infant. 
My  visitors  made  a  hearty  breakfast  on  the  26th,  and 
observed  that  they  did  not  scruple  to  lay  the  vessels 
[which  contained  their  meat  on  the  dead  child,  which 
]l  had  wrapped  in  a  blanket ;  this  unnatural  table  ex- 
ited neither  disgust,  or  any  other  feeling  amongst 
lem,  more  than  a  block  of  wood  could  have  done.  We 
low  tied  up  all  the  dogs,  as  Takkalikkita  desired,  and 


■s    S 


"■»' 


i*f>  -.WBS^rvpws'";* 


i. 


278  VISIT  TO   THE  woman's   GRAVE. 


'".iSii 


took  the  child  ahout  a  quarter  of  a  mile  astern  of  the 
•hip,  where  we  buried  it  in  the  snow. 

The  28th  was  the  third  day  after  the  woman^s  de- 
cease, but  a  heavy  northerly  gale  and  thick  drift  pre- 
vented our  visiting  the  grave,  which  seemed  greatly  to 
distress  the  widower ;  and  be  frequently  repeated  with 
impatience  that  this  was  the  proper  day  to  go  out  aod 
speak  to  his  wife. 

The  29th,  though  not  fine,  was  more  moderate,  and 
I  accompanied  Takkalikkita  at  an  early  hour.  Arriv- 
ing at  the  grave,  be  anxiously  walked  up  to  it,  and 
carefully  sought  for  foot  tracks  on  the  snow  ;  but  find- 
ing none,  repeated  to  himself,  *'  No  wolves,  no  dogs, 
no  foxeft;  thank  ye,  thank  ye.'^ 

He  now  began  a  conversation,  directed  entirely  to 
the  grave,  as  if  addressing  his  wife.  Tivice  he  called 
her  by  name,  and  twice  told  her  how  the  wind  was 
blowing,  looking  at  the  same  time  in  the  direction 
from  whence  the  drift  was  coming.  He  next  broke 
forth  into  a  low  monotonous  chant,  and  keeping  his 
eyes  fixed  on  the  grave,  walked  slowly  round  it  in 
the  direction  of  the  sun,  four  or  five  times,  pausing  at 
each  circuit  for  a  few  moments  at  the  head,  hitf  song 
continuing  uninterrupted.  At  the  expiration  of  about 
eight  minutes,  he  stopped,  and  turning  suddenly  rouod 
to  me,  exclaimed,  ^*  Tak-hft,'^  (that^s  enough)  and  b^ 
gan  walking  back  to  the  ship. 

I  now  sent  ^heega  and  her  father  home,  well  cloth-l 
ed,  and  in  good  case.  They  had  been  long  enoughl 
with  me  to  make  them  wish  to  continue  entirely,  not  I 
at  all  liking  to  exchange  a  waroa  cabin  for  a  wretched! 
snow  hut.  The  week  they  had  passed  on  board  was] 
sufficient  time  to  have  gained  them  the  esteem  of  ever/l 
one,  for  they  were  the  most  quiet  inoffensive  beings  ll 
had  ever  met  with ;  and  to  tlieir  infinite  credit,  DeTer| 
once  begged  any  thing. 

From  several  people  who  walked  down,  we  hewi 
with  great  regret,  of  the  death  of  an  uncommonly  fine 
jroung  man,  named  NoO'gloo,  an  adopted  son  to  olij 
Toolemak.  ix  ii.i'ik^-fimii^i^-_   ■■ 


astern  of  the 

e  woman's  de- 
hick  drift  pre- 
med  greatly  to 
'  repeated  with 
f  to  go  out  and 

,  moderate,  and 
ly  hour.  Arriv- 
a  up  to  it,  and 
snow ;  l>ut  find- 
wolves,  no  dogs, 

icted  entirely  to 

Twice  he  called 

w  the  wind  was 

iD  the  direction 

He  next  broke 

and  keeping  his 

owly  round  itm 

times,  pausing  at 

e  head,  hi?  song 
:piration  of  abou 
[e  suddenly  ronnd 
enough)  and  be- 1 

home,  well  cloth- 

been  long  enongn 
Uue  entirely,  Mt 
[in  for  a  wretched 
ssed  on  board  was 
ne  esteem  of  evert 
noffensive  beings  I 
We  credit,  neverj 

down,  we  Jiean^ 
h  uncommonly™'- 
tdopted  son  to  oK 


KAGHA. 


279 


On  the  31st  I  went  to  Igloolik,  where  I  found  most 
of  the  invalids  fast  recovering.     As  Pekooya^s  grave 
WHS  near,  and  there  were  several  reports  of  the  dogs 
Laving  eaten  him,  I  went  to  be  convinced  of  the  truth 
of  these  stones,  which  were  told  with  such  unconcern 
by  his  countrymen.     I  found  a  few  loose  slabs  of  snow 
lying  over  the  upper  part  of  the  body,  but  the  legs, 
up  to  the  hips,  were  picked  quite  clean,  the  bowels 
were  taken  out,  nnd  one   foot  had  bccu  torn  off;  yet 
not  one  of  the  natives,  amongst  whom  were  an  old  fa- 
ther nnd  a  half-grown  brother  of  the  deceased,  would 
take   the  trouble  to  cover  the  body  again,  and  even 
laughed  when  spoken  to  about  it.     Near  the  grave,  if 
such  a  term  might  be  applied  to  so  insecure  and  rude 
a  covering  for  the  dead,  a  spear  and  line,  with  a  har- 
poon head,  a  tin  pot,  some  beads,  and  other  trifles, 
were   placed.      Knimookhiak^s  grave    was   near  the 
man's,  but  since  the  first  attack  of  the  dogs,  she  had 
been  carefully  covered  with  snow.     Both  bodies,  how- 
ever, were  lying*  on   the  side  of  a   shingle'ridge,  at 
about  two   hundred    yards  from  the  huts ;    and   the 
snow  was  so  shallow,  that  one  day's  strong  thaw  would 
leave  them  lying  bare  on  the  ground.* 

On  the  4th  I  drove  out  to  see  Ka-ghtt,  the  widow  of 
Pekocya,  who,  by  all  accounts,  was  in  a  most  wretched 
state.  I  found  her  in  a  snow  hut  which  was  ir^^escrib- 
ably  filthy,  the  roof  broken,*  so  that  the  piert  ),^'  wind 
rashed  in,  and  with  no  furniture  except  an  apology 
for  a  skin,  on  which  the  miserable  woman  was  lying. 
She  appeared  forsaken  and  left  by  her  countrymen  to 
idle,  and  I  have  every  reason  to  believe,  from  the  rag- 
|ged  and  nasty  state  of  her  only  dress,  that  she  must 
|have  been  robbed  as  soon  as  her  husband  died,  in  the 
isame  inhuman  manner  as  the  Greenland  widows  are, 
according  to  Crantz.  I  shall  never  forget  the  piteous 
state  and  squalid  looks  of  this  deserted  woman  ;  but  I 
'Amot  describe  my  astonishment,  when,  on  producing 

*  This  was  after\  ards  the  case,  and  the  bodies  were  nearly 
kilcked  clean  of  the  flesh  as  soon  as  discovered  by  the  dogs. 


I* 

i'        I] 


4< 

h 

P 
111 


a 


i' 


280 


KAGHA. 


blankets  and  skins  to  wrap  her  in,  for  the  purpose  of 
carrying  her  on  board  to  be  recovenled,  she  turned  to  me 
and  demanded  what  I  would  ftay  her  for  her  trouble  ! ! 
Yet  this  woman  must  have  been  actually  frozen  to 
death,  had  one  more  than  usually  cold  night  set  in,  and 
at  all  events,  a  few  days  would  have  put  an  end  to  her 
miseries.  Such  is  the  covetousness  naturally  so  ob- 
servable in  the  Eskimaux,  and  which  we  had  increased 
by  our  indiscriminate  presents  to  them.  I  hotvever 
determined  on  taking  the  wretched  creature  on  board, 
whether  she  consented  or  not,  and  i  took,  as  her  com* 
paoion,  Alow-khloo,  a  boy  of  about  thirteen,  brother 
to  her  late  husband,  and  who  also  was  very  unwell. 
Both  my  patients  were  lodged  in  one  corner  of  my 
cabin,  and  stripped  of  their  clothes,  which  were  ex- 
changed  for  warm  bedding. 

5tb,   My  patients  having  been  settled  by  a  night's  j 
rest  and  a  good  washing,  I  learnt  from  the  medical  | 

'  men,  that  the  woman^s  only  complaint  was  excessive  j 
debility  from  long  neglect  and  want  of  clothing.  The  I 
boy  suffered  from  pains  in  his  joints  and  loins,  brought  j 
on  probably  by  the  same  means. 

1  however  found  that  Kaglia  laboured  under  an  in- 1 

,  firmity  which  was  incurable,  that  of  a  most  sulky  un- 
happy disposition,  but  whether  from  her  natural  tem- 
per, or  in  cotisequence  of  her  peculiarly  unhappy  situ- 

'  ation,  I  am  uncertain.  At  all  events  she  would  do| 
nothing  she  was  told,  was  dissatisfied  with  every  atten- 
tion paid  her,  and  whenever  she  volunteered  to  speakJ 
it  was  for  the  purpose  of  complaining  that  I  had  notf 
treated  her  like  the  other  sick  persons,  having  givenl 
her  neither  shirts,  knives,  nor  beads.     The  boy  madel 

:  a  grand  struggle  for  preserved  meat  instead  of  walrosJ 
and  as  he  saw  the  wonian  receive  it,  he  was  stanch 
until  subdued  by  hunger.  Both  refused  any  other  kinil 
of  European  food,  although  they  had  been  broughj 
from  a  state  of  starvation  into  a  region  of  plenty;  aniif 
even  detected  the  lady  in  throwing  bread,  jelly,  and 

;  biscuit  away,  after  having  pretended  she  had  eateij 

^  them. 


KAGHA. 


281 


The  5th  was  fine,  and  snow  was  observed  to  thaw 
en  some  black  paint,  under  the  rays  of  the  meridian 
sun.  Captain  Parry  went  out  and  buried  Pekooya, 
whose  Bfr^d  parents  appeared  thankful  for  this  mark  of 
attentioC)  or  rather  perhaps  for  a  warm  jacket  which 
each  received. 

On  the  6th  a  very  convenient  hospital  was  finished 
alongside  the  Fury,  and  Captain  Parry  received  into  it 
Innookkhloo,  who  was  dangerously  ill  with  an  inflamma- 
tion of  the  bowels,  and  his  family.  During  the  fore> 
noon  we  witnessed,  although  in  a  more  faint  degree, 
the  same  kind  of  extraordinary  arch  in  the  heavens,  as 
that  which  had  appeared  in  the  spring  at  Winte?  Island. 
The  legs  in  this  instance  were  planted  east  and  west. 

It  would  be  uninteresting  to  give  a  diurnal  account 
of  Kagha,  of  whom  it  is  sufficient  to  say,  that  after  the 
first  day  of  her  arrival  on  board,  she  was  quite  free 
from  pain,  could  sit  up,  and  was  cleaned  ;  but  she  be- 
haved so  ill  that  1  had  not  a  mementos  peace :  she  paid 
so  little  attention  to  decency,  that  my  cabin  was  dis- 
gusting to  all  who  entered  it ;  and  as  I  had  to  sleep  and 
take  my  meals  there,  my  situation  may  be  easily  con- 
ceived. She  talked  with  so  much  unconcern  of  the 
dogs  eating  her  husband,  as  quite  to  do  away  with  my 
first  opinion,  that  her  extraordinary  humour  was  caused 
by  excessive  grief. 

On  the  10th,  Mr.  McLaren,  whose  patience  had  been 
as  much  tried  as  mine,  assured  me  that  Kagha  was, 
and  had  been  all  along,  free  from  any  complaint  but 
weakness  and  ill-htrmour ;  and  my  cabin  having  becomje 
a  nuisance  to  the  ship,  I  determined  on  sending  her 
borne,  or  more  properly,  to  the  house  of  a  man  who 
promised  to  receive  her  as  the  sister  of  bis  wife,  but, 
most  probably,  in  hopes  of  a  present  from  me.  I  cloth- 
ed her  in  two  new  warm  suits,  and  also  gave  her  a 
blanket  and  a  wolf  skin  coverlet ;  but  she  objected  to 
ber  outer  coat,  because  it  was  of  warm  and  thick 
woollen  instead  of  deer  skin,  and  complained  that  I 
gave  her  but  one  blanket.  The  grand  cause  of  dis- 
content was  still  that  I  had  given  her  no  beads,  .and 
24* 


li 


I 


«8£ 


8N0W  THAWED. 


1 '  ?■ 


111 


before  she  left  my  cabiD  she  stole  a  knife,  which  I  af. 
terwards  found  on  her;  thas,  behaving  from  the  first 
with  the  most  admirable  consistency,  and  never  for 
one  moment  allowing  any  one  to  hold  a  more  favour- 
able opinion  of  her  than  was  formed  at  my  interview 
in  her  hut. 

Ooyarro  came  to  see  me  after  a  very  long  absence, 
and  the  savnge  expressed  not  the  least  concern  about 
the  fate  of  his  wife,  whom  he  had  so  unfeelingly  left  to 
die.  From  him  1  learnt  that  the  distant  Eskimaux  had 
been  very  successful  in  the  capture  of  seals,  most  of 
which  were  with  young,  and  1  procured  some  of  the 
fcBtuses  on  account  of  their  beautiful  skins.  Three 
bears  had  been  recently  killed,  and  the  heads  of  two, 
which  I  obtained,  were  of  a  terrific  size ;  the  third  was 
a  young  one.  ^ 

Captain  Parry  was  on  this  day  obliged  to  banish  two 
of  his  patients,  for  his  number  had  been  increased,  oa 
account  of  their  discontent  and  ill  conduct.  Their 
chief  ground  of  complaint  was  in  being  limited  to  5lh. 
of  walrus  flesh  per  diem.    The  wife  of  one  of  these 

Eeople  exhibited  a  fine  example  of  feeling  while  her 
usband  whs  confined  to  his  bed  by  a  severe  wound  in 
the  leg ;  she  came  twice  to  the  ships,  and  did  not  ones 
ask  after  him. 

On  the  16th  the  weather,  which  had  for  some  days 
been  exceedingly  mild,  took  a  sudden  change,  and  in 
an  hour  or  two  the  thermometer  fell  to  35°  and  40°. 

As  a  convincing  proof  of  the  flourishing  state  of  the 
Datives,  a  seal  was  sold  to  me  tor  a  knife. 

1  observed,  even  while  the  temperature  in  the  shade 
Was  35°  below  zero,  that  fine  powder  of  snow  melted 
under  the  influence  of  the  sun,  when  sprinkled  on  a 
stick  covered  with  soot ;  thus  making  a  difierence  of  j 
temperature,  existing  at  the  same  time,  as  great  as  67° 
and  upwards. 

On  the  21st  Captain  Parry  was  induced,  from  the 
•tate  in  which  he  had  found  Kagha  on  the  preceding 
day,  to  send  for  her  to  the  hospital.  It  appeared  that 
the  was  closed  up,  and  alene  in  a  small  snow  hut :  » 


KAGHA'8  DEATH. 


£8i 


B,  which  1  af- 
Tom  the  tirst 
ind  never  for 
more  favour- 
iny  interview 

long  ahfience, 
concern  about 
■celinglyleftto 

Cskimaux  had 
•  seals,  most  of 
Bd  some  of  the 

skins.  Three 
,e  heads  of  two, 
B ;  the  third  was 

sd  to  hanish  tw« 
►n  increased,  on 
conduct.  Their 
g  limited  to  Blh. 

of  one  of  these 
leling  while  her 
severe  wound  in 

and  did  not  ones 

id  for  some  days 
i  change,  and  in 
10  3B°  and  40°. 
shing  state  of  the 

life.  ,    , 

ature  in  the  shade 
prof  snow  melted 

[n  sprinkled  on  a 
„g  a  difference  of  I 

je,  as  great  as  67 

pduced,  from  the 
[on  the  preceding 
I  It  appeared  that 
Lali  snow  hut :  « 


tingle  wick  of  her  lamp  was  burniD^',  ftnd  her  long 
hair  was  frozen  to  her  bed>place  in  a  quantity  of  blood 
which  she  had  been  spitting.     On  eitricating  the  poor 
wretch  from  the  hut,  she  was  found  in  a  state  of  nithi- 
ness  and  misery  not  to  be  described ;  and  on  her  arrival 
at  the  hospital,  it  was  found  requisite  to  shave  her 
head,  her  hair  being  covered  with  vermin  literally  an 
inch  deep.     After  being  made  as  comfortable  as  her 
exhausted  state  would  perrjit,  she  passed  a  restless 
night ;  yet  was  sensible,  and  took  a  little  nourishment. 
On  the  22d  she  died.    On  dissection,  the  medical 
men  found  no  signs  of  any  internal  complaint ;  her  lungs 
were  healthy,  but  from  the  state  of  her  stomach,  not  a 
doubt  was  entertained  of  her  having  actually  died  of 
starvation.     A  most  extraordinary  and  inexplicable  de- 
cay had  been  going  forward  in  her  mouth,  for  the  lower 
jaw  was  quite  destroyed,  blHck,  and  cstnous,  and  not  a 
single  tooth  remained  in  it.     When  she  left  me,  her 
gums  were  healthy  and  her  teeth  white,  and  even 
handsome,  yet  this  wonderful  change  had  taken  place 
in  ten  days.    There  were  no  symptoms  of  scurvy,  and 
the  face  outwardly  was  uninjured.     She  had  left  me 
pretty  well  in  flesh,  and  able  to  walk,  but  was  notv  the 
most  complete  skeleton  I  ever  saw.    The  circiimfstances 
attending  her  fate  were  really  shocking  to  humanity, 
and  were  not  known  until  it  was  too  late  to  remedy 
them.    From  the  state  in  which  Captain  Parry  found 
her,  it  was  evident,  that  had  food  been  supplied  her, 
she  could  not  have  cooked  it,  or  even  helped  herself; 
and  not  one  of  her  tribe  even  went  near  her.    Her 
nominal  sister  lived  within  a  few  feet  of  her ;  the  father, 
mother,  and  young  brother  of  her  deceased  husband, 
were  also  at  hand ;  yet  not  a  soul  of  these  ever  went 
into  her  hat,  but  left  her  as  a  condemned  being,  to  be 
starved  to  death  in  the  midst  of  plenty.    The  same,  no 
doubt,  would  have  been  the  case  with  any  other  un- 
protected widow. 

Kagha's  dead  body  lay  two  days  unbnried,  in  order 

to  give  her  friends  an  opportunity  of  asking  ab(xt  her; 

i  but  not  a  friend  was  found,  not  one  man,  woman,  or 


P 


li 


■  1::^ 


.;lir« 


£84 


>  t  <*wv-'-*WQ'''."VB9»    .i.,.Afv* 


l^J 


>:t 


1 


f 

I  li  !•      I 


,  child  inquired  after  her,  and  I  firmly  helieye  none  even 
knew  where  she  was  buried.    Nesh-y&,  the  woman 
who  at  first  had  acknowledged  herself  sister  to  the  de- 
ceased, now  denied  it,  and  treated  the  whole  story  as 
a  vi6ry  good  joke,  and  the  Kabloonas  as  a  set  of  fools. 
On  the  25th  a  man  stole  a  knife,  or,  properly  speak- 
ing,  confessed  having  stolen  one  on  the  preceding  day, 
and   I   accordingly   consigned  him   to  our  coal-hole, 
where  I  kept  him  in  durance  for  some  hours.    His 
countrymen  who  were  on  board  seemed  to  care  little 
about  this,  and  even  laughed  when  I  said  I  purposed 
killing  him.     When  they  went  away,  some  of  our  offi- 
cers, who  did  not  know  what  had  happened,  met  them 
on  the  ice,  and  were  told,  unconcernedly,  ^'  that  Khiap- 
kft  had  stolen  a  knife,  and  that  Lyon  had  put  him  into 
a  black  place  and  cut  his  throat.'^     I  verily  think  that 
had  I  actually  done  so,  no  one,  except  his  old  mother, 
would  have  been  a£9icted.    On  the  following  day  my 
ofiender  brought  the  knife  from  the  huts,  and  came, 
attended  by  another  man  who  walked  before  him  up 
the  ladder,  carrying  the  weapon  in  his  hand.     His  pro- 
curing an  assistant  was,  as  I  soon  found,  for  the  purpose 
of  obtaining  presents,  the  thief  observing  that  I  ought 
to  give  him  something  for  returning  the  knife,  and  his 
companion  declaring  that  he  also  had  a  claim  on  my 
generosity  ^^  for  having  carried  the  stolen  goods." 
fi    On  the  28th,  the  two  wolves,  which  now  so  rarely 
visited  us,  came  very  near  the  ship,  and  all  my  dogs 
gave  them  chase :  the  old  and  wise  were  easily  re- 
called, but  a  couple  of  spirited  young  animals  continued  i 
the  pursuit  until  we  could  no  longer  see  them.    In 
about  two  houra,  however,  both  returned  unhurt.    This 
circumstance  I  have  mentioned  as  tending  to  destroy 
our  opinions,  founded  on  former  observations,  and  above 
all,  on  the  accounts  of  the  Eskimaux,  that  their  dogs, 
although  fearless  when  opposed  to  a  bear,  will  Dotj 
yenture  in  any  number  to  attack  a  single  wolf.    My  fa- 
Tourites,  on  returning,  were  in  the  highest  spirits,  aodj 
apparent  anxiety  for  another   run;    indeed  we  badl 
some  difficulty  in  preveDtin|p  their  gpiog  off  again  in| 
the  wolk  tracks. 


TISIT  OISTAUT  HVT8. 


2B5 


8th.  Our  weather  for  isbme  days  past  had  beeK 
^beautiful,  but  like  many  lovely  objects  in  a  better 
country,  was  very  frigid  towards  us  sea-faring  people. 
The  Eskimaux  were  now  in  such  good  condition,  that 
there  was  little  probability  of  their  being  in  any  seri- 
ous distress  for  food,  until  the  next  season  of  darkness. 
On  the  13th  I  obtained  what  even  the  unobserviug 
natives  considered  a  curiosity,  a  young  walrus  head 
baving  three  tusks  instead  of  the  usual  number,  two. 
On  the  left  side  were  two  nearly  of  an  equal  length, 
one  being  one  inch  and  a  half,  and  the  other  two  inches 
and  a  half  in  length ;  that  on  the  opposite  side  was  too 
inches  long.  The  size  of  these  tusks  quite  did  away 
with  the  idea  of  one  of  them  being  a  milk  tooth,  al- 
though on  the  double  side  there  was  still  but  one  socket 
for  both. 

On  the  22d  a  very  perceptible  thaw  began  to  display 
itself  daily,  in  melting  such  light  coats  of  snow  as  lay 
on  dark  parts  of  the  ship,  and  exposed  to  the  full  glare 
of  the  noon-day  sun.  We  now  also  observed  that  the 
smali  kind  of  sea-lice,  which  had  been  so  abundant 
during  the  whole  winter  in  the  fire  hole  alongside  the 
Fury,  were  equally  numerous  at  the  Hecla's;  while, 
by  solne  extraordinary  arrangement,  they  entirely  for- 
sook their  former  quarters.  We  accounted  for  our 
not  having  had  them  before,  by  the  Fury's  lying  in 
five  fathoms  water,  while  we  were  in  eighteen.  It 
may  be  remembered,  that  at  Winter  Island  these  little 
creatures  were  constantly  with  us,  and  did  as  much 
damage  by  eating  our  meat,  when  we  put  it  down  to 
soak. 

We  had  heard  so  much  of  the  prosperity  of  the  peo- 
ple at  the  distant  huts  on  the  ice  to  the  northward,  that 
I  determined  on  paying  them  a  visit,  and  I  drove  out, 
accompanied  by  G.  Dunn,  my  grand  assistant  on  these 
occasions,  and  a  young  Eskimaux,  to  show  us  the  road. 
We  found  the  settlers,  after  a  very  bleak  drive,  at 
about  twenty  miles  to  the  N.  of  Igloolik  huts,  and  estab- 
lished on  the  sea  ice,  from  which  their  six  little  snpw 
huts  could  not  be  distinguished  at  above  the  distance  9f 


'I 


m 


m. 


1 1     ^ 


I 


286 


VISIT  AND  RECEPTIOir 


half  a  mile.  The  party  consisted  of  twenty-dght  pep- 
sons.  Here,  as  at  our  Tillage  on  the  island,  plenty 
brought  its  evils.  One  young  man  was  recovering  from 
a  very  severe  fit  of  illness,  and  his  brother  had  recently 
fallen  sick.  I  thought  I  could  not  do  better  for  the 
poor  fellow  than  to  bleed  him,^  and  accordingly,  with 
my  knife,  1  took  from  him  about  twenty-four  ounces  of 
blood,  for  which  piece  of  doctoring*  1  received  abun- 
dant thanks,  with  half  an  offer  of  some  liver,  as  a  fee. 
My  patient,  however,  soon  lost  his  good  opinion,  and  I 
believe  looked  on  me  as  little  better  than  his  murderer, 
when  I  strictly  charged  his  mother  to  give  him  no 
meat,  )raw  or  boiled,  for  two  whole  daj?,  but  to  allow 
him  as  much  soup  as  be  could  swallow. 

We  were  cordially  invited  into  the  smallest,  most 
miserable,  and  worst  provided  of  the  huts,  by  a  couple, 
whose  character  at  the  ships  was  eminent  on  the  list 
of  beggars,  but  we  found  them  every  thing  we  could 
wi  h.'  The  family  consisted  ot  the  man,  his  wife,  and 
three  children,  two  of  whom  were  half-grown;  yet 
this  party  were  living  on  a  seat,  whose  breadth  was 
flii  feet,  and  its  depth  five.  To  this'  space  1  was  ad- 
mitted, and  Dunn  had  exclusive  possession  of  the  floor 
of  the  same  extent,  but  certainly  the  cleanest  and  best 
part  of  the  dwelling.  As  this  was  the  only  hut  which 
was  not  lined  with  seal  skins,  the  water  dropped  on  us 
from  every  part  of  the  roof:  but,  to  make  up  for  want 
of  other  comforts,  our  hosts  paid  ns  the  greatest  and 
sincerest  attention  I  ever  received  from  Eskimaux,  and 
by  their  cheerfulness  showed  how  happy  they  were  in 
having  their  hut  preferred  to  others.  During  the  time 
we  remained  with  them,  they  never  once  begged,  and 
would  have  crammed  us  with  food,  had  we  been  in- 
clined to  receive  it.  A  lamp  was  given  up  to  me  that 
1  might  cook  what  I  pleased,  and  after  my  own  man- 
ner ;  and  we  passed  a  most  merry  evening.  My  chief 
occupation  was  nursing  a  dirty  little  baby,  with  no 
other  clothes  on  than  the  skin  of  a  fox  as  a  jacket,  and 
I  ^uite  won  the  heart  of  the  mama,  who  was  an  annat* 


AT  THE  DISTANT  BVTS. 


287 


nty-^ght  peF- 
Lsland,  plenty 
covering  from 
r  had  recently 
»etter  for  the 
jrdingly,  with 
four  ounces  of 
•eceived  abun- 
iver,  as  a  fee. 
I  opinion,  and  1 
\  his  murderer, 
o  give  him  no 
3,  but  to  allow 

smallest,  roost 
its,  by  a  couple, 
lent  on  the  list 
thing  we  could 
m,  his  wife,  and 
half-grown;  yet 
ise  breadth  was 
pace  1  was  ad- 
don of  the  floor 
leanest  and  best 
only  hut  which 
r  dropped  on  us 
ake  up  for  want 
the  greatest  and 
n  Eskimaux,  and 
py  they  were  in 
During  the  time 
nee  begged,  and 
lad  we  been  in- 
en  up  to  me  that 
>r  my  own  man- 
ning.   My  chief 
baby,  with  no 
as  a  jacket,  and 
ho  was  an  annat- 


koka,  by  singing,  to  her  infant,  *^  Bye  baby  banting,^' 
and  other  nursery  songs.  The  first  ditty  gave  gi«.at 
satisfaction  when  1  managed  so  to  translate  it,  as  to  de- 
scribe the  child's  father  going  hunting  for  the  indivi- 
dual fox,  of  whose  skin  its  jacket  was  made. 

I  never  slept  so  warmly,  or  in  so  small  and  dirty  a 
space,  as  on  this  night.  A  young  seal  was  my  pillow, 
and  the  burning  lamp  was  within  six  iuches  of  my  nose. 

On  taking  my  departure,  I  gave  my  host  an  invita- 
tion to  return  my  visit  as  soon  as  he  chose,  and  we  fol- 
lowed the  same  tract  by  which  we  had  gone  out. 

When  we  arrived  on  board,  we  found  that  two 
sledges  had  arrived  from  Pingitkalik.  Young  Tooloo- 
ak,  of  eating  celebrity,  being  one  of  the  visitors,  Cap- 
tain Parry  gave  him  as  much  food  as  he  could  devour, 
and  on  the  following  morning  his  account  stood  as  per 
margin.*  The  raw  spirits  and  grog  were  given  him 
within  half  an  hour,  on  board  the  liecla,  but  had  no 
more  effect  on  him  than  the  same  quantity  of  water 
would  have  had  on  an  European. 

Captain  f^arry  considering  the  present  a  good  oppor- 
tunity of  going  to  see  Pingitkalik,  accompanied  the 
natives  home.  He  returned  on  the  4th,  and  gave  a 
favourable  account  of  his  reception.  The  establish- 
ment is  about  twenty  miles  to  the  southward  of  Igloo- 
lik,  and  near  it  at  about  two  miles,  is  the  line  of  open 
water  in  which  the  men  kill  the  walruses. 

In  the  afternoon,  Kan-gft-ra,  in  whose  hut  we  had 
been  so  well  treated  on  the  night  of  the  1st,  paid  me  a 
visit.  1  was  well  aware  that  after  I  had  given  him 
some  useful  presents,  abundant  feeding  would  be  the 
most  kindly  received  attention,  and  I  accordingly  pitted 
him  against  young  Toolooak.  Ha  commenced  at  1 
P.M.,  and  by  8  a.m.  on  the  day  following,  had  expended 

*  Solids,  10  lbs.  4  oz.  Water,  one  gallon  one  pint.  Soup,  one 
pint  and  a  quarter.  Raw  spirits,  three  glasses  and  a  half.  Grog, 
strong,  one  tumbler!  This  in  twenty-one  hours,  eight  of  which 
irere  passed  in  sleep. 


I- 


l:^ 


-. 


I     l:S^4. 


S88 


SCITRYT. 


m  i 


P 


ii\'^  "     t 


as  per  margin.* .  Of  the  nineteen  hours  during  which 
my  friend  remained  on  board,  he  slept  eight,  without 
once  waking  or  turning.  Toolooak  drank  about  the 
same  quantity  of  fluids,  but  exceeded  in  solids  by 
five  ounces.  It  must,  however,  be  remembered,  that 
he  had  two  hours  more  time  than  my  man,  who  would 
ID  the  same  period  have  beaten  him  hollow. 

Winter  was  now  decidedly  giving  way  to  spring. 
The  sun  thawed  a  little  snow  every  day,  and  some* 
times  even  caused  puddles  of  water  on  the  dirt  along- 
side. Our  officers  and  people  had  for  some  days 
past  amused  themselves  by  playing  at  cricket  and 
foot-ball,  and  some  very  lively  matches  took  place, 
although  as  many  tumbles  were  made  as  notches  run. 
in  the  course  of  the  last  two  months,  some  of  the 
officers  of  each  ship  had  been  more  or  less  attacked 
by  scurvy,  but  a  timely  administration  of  antiscorbutics 
had  now  cured  them  all.  It  appears  somewhat  remark- 
able, that  the  officers  a)one  should  have  been  thus 
affected ;  but  some  reason  may  be  assigfned  for  the  ex- 
cellent health  of  the  men,  who  were  daily  obliged  to 
take  regular  exercise,  who  had  no  salt  provisions,  and 
who  were  carefully  examined  twice  a  day  to  see  if 
they  were  sufficiently  clothed.  The  officers,  on  the 
otluer  hand,  only  took  exercise  as  inclination  lod  them. 

*  SOLIDSi 


'4  c 


Bread-dust  and  train  oil 
Watrus  flesh,  boiled 
ISeal  and  bread 
Two  candles 
Bread  and  butter    - 


lb. 
1 
7 
1 
0 
0 


10 

1 

0 
3 
1 


»    15 


VLVpi. 


Rich  walrus  soup 
Water  above    - 


2 

4 


4 


Total  6  quart! 


# 


MR.  EIDER  HIES. 


289 


during  vihich. 
Bight,  without 
iDk  about  the 

in  solids  by 
tembered,  that 
an,  who  would 
tlow. 

f?ay  to  spring, 
lay,  and  some- 
the  dirt  along- 
for  some  days 
at    cricket  and 
les  took  place, 
as  notches  run. 
IS,  some  of  the 
or  less  attacked 
of  antiscorbutics 
newhat  remark- 
have  been  thus 
jned  for  the  ex- 
daily  obliged  to 
*  provisions,  and 
a  day  to  see  if 

officers,  on  the 
ination  U^  them. 


Total  « q"*"^ 


Careless  of  exposing  themselves,  they  frequently  left 
a  warm  cabin  to  go  lightly  clothed  on  deck,  and  all 
their  stock  of  extra  provisions  was  necessarily  salt, 
such  as  butter,  hams,  tongues,  &c. 

An  excellent  allowance  of  fresh  Donkins's  meats 
was  issued  for  all,  with  pickles,  lemon-juice,  spruce, 
and  other  beer  besides,  so  that  fresh  food  formed  the 
chief  messes.  We  also  reared  mustard  and  cress  until 
the  1st  of  April,  which  gave  sometimes  two  or  three 
ounces  to  every  man  at  one  cutting.  In  somewhat 
above  four  months  1781bs.  were  grown.  In  boxes 
round  my  stove  I  procured  14lbs.  for  my  own  and  my 
servant's  consumption,  and  at  the  same  time  derived 
amusement  from  attending  to  my  little  garden.  Per- 
haps it  is  needless  to  say  that  vegetables  thus  grown 
in  the  dark  are  of  a  light  yellow  colour,  and  throw  out 
but  two  little  leaves,  after  which  they  run  to  stalk 
until  three  or  four  inches  high,  and  then  fade  away. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  10th  I  sent  a  couple  of 
men  to  dig  up  the  little  child  we  had  buried  in  the 
snow,  in  January,  and  it  was  sunk  with  proper  weights 
in  our  lire-hole,  without  any  one  being  the  wiser.  I 
deemed  this  requisite,  lest  the  general  thaw,  which 
was  soon  expected,  should  leave  the  poor  little  crea- 
ture a  prey  to  wolves  and  dogs. 

On  the  15th,  Mr.  Alexander  Elder,  Greenland  mate 
of  the  Hecla,  departed  this  life,  after  a  confinement  of 
a  few  days.  His  complaint  wan  a  confirmed  dropsy, 
which  had  considerably  swelled  his  whole  body  and 
limbs,  and  the  poor  man  suffered  continued  and  severe 
pain,  from  the  oppression  in  his  chest,  which,  on  ex- 
amination after  death,  was  found  to  contain  six  pints  of 
water.  During  both  winters  he  had  been  subject  to 
disorders  in  the  breast  and  side,  and  for  some  time  past 
had  been  in  a  great  measure  under  the  eye  of  the 
surgeon.  The  deceased  had  been  leading  man  with 
Captain  Parry  on  Captain  Ross's  voyage,  and  for  bis 
good  conduct  had  been  made  mate  of  the  Griper  on  the 
last  expedition.  Now  having  overcome  the  second 
winteff  of  a  third  voyage,  the  poor  fellow  was  fated 
S6 


hi 


fe 


1 


3 


290 


ARRANGEMENTS  FOB  THE   TURY 


m. 


•I: 


P' 


to  breathe  his  last  at  Igloolik.  He  was  a  thorough 
good  steady  seaman,  and  solely  by  his  own  merit  had 
risen  to  the  station  which  he  filled  at  the  time  of  his 
death. 

During  the  16th  a  party  were  employed  digging 
a  grave,  but  after  many  hours^  labour,  and  breaking 
ten  pickaxes,  were  unable,  on  account  of  the  frozen 
state  of  the  earth,  to  penetrate  deeper  than  three 
feet 

On  the  forenoon  of  the  17th,  the  officers  and 
crews  of  both  ships  attended  the  remains  of  their 
deceased  comrade  to  the  grave,  and  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Fisher  being  confined  by  Illness,  Captain  Parry,  as 
senior  officer  and  patron  of  the  defunct,  read  the 
funeral  service.  Two  volleyc  were  fired  over  the 
grave,  and  we  returned  on  board  amidst  clouds  of 
snow,  which  were  flying  under  the  influence  of  the 
most  severe  northerly  gale  we  had  experienced 
during  the  winter. 

On  the  20th,  after  church.  Captain  Parry  made 
known  to  the  officers  and  men  his  future  intentions 
with  regard  to  the  expedition,  which  we  had  arranged 
during  the  winter  months,  on  a  plan  proposed  by 
Captain  Parry  himself,  and  in  which  1  fully  agreed 
with  him. 

It  was  evident  that,  should  the  ships  remain  out 
this  coming  summer,  should  they  make  any  progress, 
and  pass  a  third  winter,  their  provision  would  be  so 
nearly  consumed,  that  but  a  small  quantity  would  re- 
main for  the  passage  home;  and  if  (as  there  was  a 
possibility)  we  should  in  returning  be  detained,  we 
must  of  necessity  pass  another  winter  without  suste* 
nance.  With  these  arguments  before  us,  it  was  resolved 
that,  although  both  ships  could  not  remain  out,  yet  one 
by  receiving  a  yearns  provisions  from  the  other,  might 
do  so ;  and  accordingly  Captain  Parry  determined  oa 
completing  the  Fury  from  us,  and  making  another  at- 
tempt in  the  summer,  while  the  Hecia,  with  sufficient 
provisions  for  the  passage,  should  make  the  best  of  her 
way  home.    Little  or  no  hopes  could  be  entertained  of 


f 


18  a  thorough 
na  merit  had 
le  time  of  his 

)loyed  digging 

\  and  breaking 

of  the  frozen 

per  than  three 

e    ofl&cers  and 
mains  of  their 
J  the  Rev.  Mr. 
ptain  Parry,  as 
funct,  read  the 
fired   over  the 
imidst  clouds  of 
influence  of  the 
ad    experienced 

ain  Parry  made 
future  intentions 
ive  had  arranged 
Ian  proposed  by 
h  1  fuHy  agreed 

ships  remain  out 
ke  any  progress, 
ion  would  be  so 
aantity  would  re- 
fas  there  was  a 
be  detained,  we 
jr  without  suste- 
is,  it  was  resolved 
nain  out,  yet  one 
the  other,  might 
•y  determined  on 
aking  another  at- 
la,  with  suf&cient 
:e  the  best  of  her 
be  entertained  of 


TO  REMAIN  ANOTHER  TEAR. 


291 


any  passage  being  found  to  the  westward,  otherwise 
than  by  the  strait  which  we  found  so  firmly  closed 
with  ice ;  but  it  was  to  be  hoped  that  some  interesting 
additions  might  be  made  to  the  geography  of  these 
dreary  regions,  by  attempting  a  passage  to  the  north- 
ward or  eastward,  in  hopes  of  finding  an  outlet  to  Lan- 
caster Sound,  or  Prince  Hegent^s  Inlet.  Circumstan- 
ces, however,  were  to  guide  Captain  Parry  in  his 
intended  route,  and  he  nobly  resolved  that  while  the 
means  were  afforded  him  he  would  persevere  in  his 
arduous  undertaking ;  and  thus  repel  any  future  idea, 
that  while  British  ships  and  seamen  were  on  the  spot 
they  neglected  the  slightest  opportunity  of  adding  to 
the  knowledge  already  obtained  of  these  countries. 

Arrangements  were  accordingly  made  for  sending 
stores  and  provisions  from  the  Hecla,  and  we  began 
our  work  on  the  morning  of  the  21st,  trusting  for  the 
carriage  entirely  to  our  two  excellent  teams  of  dogs 
and  sledges.  As  a  specimen  of  what  these  useful  crea- 
tures can  do,  1  took  the  trouble  to  time  my  dogs  when 
carrying  a  load  of  161 1  lbs.  There  were  nine  of  them 
to  draw  this,  and  they  reached  the  Fury,  distant  1750 
yards,  in  as  many  minutes  ! 

At  dawn  on  the  22nd,  two  grouse  pitched  on  our 
dirt  heap,  but  were  soon  frightened  away  again.  This 
day  I  admitted  daylight  at  the  stern  windows,  which 
showed  my  gloomy  sooty  cabin  to  no  great  advantage, 
and  no  less  than  ten  buckets  of  ice  were  taken  from 
the  sashes  and  out  of  the  stern  lockers,  from  which 
latter  my  spare  flannels  and  some  instruments  were 
only  liberated  by  chopping. 

On  St.  Geoi^e^s  day  both  the  ships  were  dressed  in 
tlags,  and  at  1  f.  m.  we  fired  a  royal  salute,  in  honour 
of  his  majesty^s  birthday.  Oui"  guns  were  arranged  in 
a  little  battery  alongside,  as  it  would  not  have  been 
I  prudent  to  have  fired  them  on  board  while  the  ships 
I  were  so  firmly  sealed  up  in  the  ice.  A  large  party  of 
natives  were  invited  down,  as  we  were  in  hopes  that 
80  novel  a  display  might  make  some  impression  on 
them,  and  by  giving  them  something  to  talk  of,  be  the 


» 

f 
t 


&92 


IKSEirSIBILITY. 


U': 


I:    ^ 


means  of  keeping  up  a  remembrance  of  us  at  some 
future  time.  Three  or  four  hey,  yaws,  were  however 
the  sum  total  of  their  remarks,  and  before  the  salute 
was  6red,  the  whole  party  became  tired  of  it,  although 
none  of  them  had  ever  before  heard  a  great  gun  or 
seen  a  flag.  1  led  an  old  woman  to  the  side  of  one  of 
our  94-pounder-cnrronades,  and  entered  into  conversa- 
tion with  her,  when  1  observed  that  at  the  explosion 
she  did  not  even  wink  her  eyes,  but  very  earnestly 
continued  a  long  story  about  a  pair  of  boots  for  which 
some  of  our  people  had  not  contented  her.  A  second 
report  caused  one  of  our  snow  washing-houses  to  fall 
in,  on  which  the  good  lady  uttered  her  hey-yaw,  as  if 
it  was  the  most  curious  part  of  the  ceremony.  Toole- 
mak  had  been  expected  with  his  family  ;  but  did  not 
arrive,  although  he  bud  threatened  to  bring  his  gua, 
in  hopes  that  he  might  find  some  of  our  powder  after 
it  had  been  fired  out  of  the  guns ;  for  he  complained 
sadly,  that  in  the  event  of  birds  flying  near,  he  had  no 
ammunition  to  kill  them. 

We  were  all  much  distressed  by  hearing  of  the 
death  of  poor  Innook-khioo,  who  having  again  fallen 
ill  after  his  removal  from  the  Fury's  hospital,  died  on 
the  20th  at  Pingitkalik.  This  man,  the  elder  brother 
to  Noogloo,  whose  death  I  mentioned  in  the  winter, 
was  xonfessedly  the  chief  and  boldest  hunter  of  the 
tribe,  supporting  by  his  own  exertions  a  numerous 
family  of  relatives. 

On  the  afternoon  of  this  day  we  finished  cutting  a 
trench  round  the  ships,  in  order  to  admit  of  the  car- 
penter's caulking  and  smoothing  her  bottom,  for  a 
Jew  streaks,  as  her  larboard  side  was  rubbed  us  rough 
as  the  husk  of  a  cocoa  nut,  by  the  squeezes  she  re- 
ceived on  her  passage  from  Winter  Island.  It  is  a 
singular  thing  to  see  about  four  or  five  feet  of  a  ship's 
bottom  below  the  water  line,  and  while  standing  in  the 
trench,  to  have  the  water  in  the  tire-hole  from  which 
you  are  divided  by  a  thin  ice  wall  on  a  level  with  youi 

breast.  ^'Tf*^*,     '^'■'    •,  •    •^^•-J»:i      ,.»..;■»    uf^.  ^    .-.-     ;;     ■•- 


TOOLEMAK. 


293 


On  the  2ncl  May,  I  was  informed  by  Captain  Parry 
of  a  singular  circumstance.  A  couple  of  his  officers, 
while  walking  to  the  huts  against  a  strong  sea  breeze, 
in  a  temperature  of  12°.,  observed  their  faces  to  be 
coated  with  white  and  very  bitter  salt,  which  shows 
how  strongly  the  atmosphere,  even  at  this  low  tem- 
perature, must  be  impregnated  with  saline  particles. 

The  first  general  thaw  took  place  on  the  4th  May, 
the  thermometer  rising  to  3°.  above  the  freezing 
point :  two  hundred  and  thirty-four  days  had  now 
passed  since  it  had  been  so  high  in  the  shade  !  In  the 
evening  Toolemak  rolled  very  jovially  into  my  cabin, 
telling  me,  that  having  drank  four  glasses  of  ^^  hot 
water^^  at  the  Fury  he  was  come  to  do  the  same  with 
me.  He  was  immediately  accommodated,  and  together 
with  what  he  obtained  from  the  officers,  as  well  as 
myself,  in  about  ten  minutes  gulped  down  five  glasses 
and  a  half  more  of  raw  rum,  which  he  designated  as 
above.  !Nine  glasses  and  a  half  of  spirits  were,  how- 
ever, too  much  for  him,  and  in  a  short  time  he  became 
most  noisily  drunk.  Mr.  Fife,  who  had  been  a  little 
unwell  in  his  stomach,  quite  delighted  the  old  fellow 
by  asking  his  assistance  as  a  conjuror,  and  being  shut 
up  in  a  darkened  cabin,  he  made  the  ship  echo  with 
bis  bellowings  and  exorcisms.  All  his  familiar  spirits 
were  summoned  in  a  bunch,  and  I  could  not  but  ob- 
serve that  the  sage  immortals  were  as  drunk  as  the 
potent  Annatko,  who  constrained  them  to  answer  for 
themselves.  In  fact,  poor  Toolemak  was  so  overcome, 
and  at  the  same  time  so  little  aware  of  it,  that  hu 
made  some  curious  mistakes,  and  betrayed  all  the 
secrets  of  his  art,  which  I  had  in  vain  tried  to  learn 
from  him  in  his  sober  moments.  I  found  that  his  diving 
or  retiring  voice  was,  as  I  had  before  suspected,  regu- 
lated entirely  by  speaking  in  his  hands,  and  gradually 
covering  his  face  with  bis  jacket,  until  the  tones 
were  rendered  indistinct  and  ultimately  smothered. 
He  made  but  an  indifferent  dive,  yet  when  I  spoke  to 
biro,  as  I  sat  by  his  side,  he  assured  me  he  was  under 
tbe  earth,  and  that  not  Toolemak,  but  his  favourite. 
26* 


394 


A  DRUNKEN    CORJUBOIt. 


spirit  Pamiooii,  was  now  tnlking  with  roe.  Wliile  the 
conjurations  were  going  forward,  wliicli  lasted  about 
bulf  an  liour,  lie  frequently  slapped  Mr.  Fife^s  stomach, 
and  the  latter  being  a  very  fat  man,  the  hollow  rever- 
beration added  not  a  little  to  the  oddness  of  the  cere- 
monies, for  at  each  beating  our  Annatko,  in  an  autho- 
ritative voice,  commanded  the  pain  to  leave  him. 

Our  friend  committed  a  thousand  good-humoured 
extravagancies  on  being  led  back  to  my  cabin,  where 
he  was  carefully  laid  on  a  couch  of  skins.  His  owtt 
Toice  having  entirely  left  him,  he  did  nothing  but 
chant  in  the  tones  of  Tornga,  no  doubt  fancying 
himself  highly  inspired.  An  occasional  outcry  for 
something  to  eat  was  immediately  succeeded  by  his 
falling  on  whatever  wood  was  at  hand,  and  biting  it 
deeply  with  his  short  and  strong  teeth.  One  of  the 
officer's  doors  was  quite  disfigured  by  these  starts  of 
frenzy.  1  never  indeed  saw  a  drunken  man  more  good- 
humoured,  and  he  chanted  out  his  terms  of  friendship 
to  all  around  him,  while  to  myself  he  occasionally 
turned  with  great  gravity,  saying  tliat  I  was  his  son, 
and  as  well  as  himself  was  a  great  Annatko.  All 
these  exertions  made  him  so  thirsty,  that  the  most 
wonderful  exhibition  yet  remained,  which  was,  that 
as  fast  as  he  could  be  supplied,  he  drank  eleven  pints 
and  one  gill  of  water  !  At  each  tumbler  full,  and  they 
amounted  to  seventeen,  he  proudly  patted  his  belly, 
exclaiming  Annatko  ooanga  (Fm  a  conjuror),  which 
no  one  could  now  for  a  moment  doubt.  When  abso- 
lutely filled  to  the  throat,  and  unable  to  pour  dowti 
any  more,  his  countenance  fell,  and  in  a  desponding 
tone  he  two  or  three  times  beat  his  breast,  and  ac- 
knoivledged  himself  vanquished :  ^^  Pm  no  conjuror, 
1  can  drink  no  more.''  Within  ten  minutes  after  this 
hydraulic  exhibition,  we  were  surprised  to  find  the 
wizard  become  nearly  sober,  though  not  at  all  less 
merry,  and  he  walked  to  his  sledge  with  but  little 
assistance,  after  a  few  tumbles  in  some  deep  snow 
which  had  recently  fallen,  and  from  which  he  tould 
not  easily  extricate  himself  for  laughing,  even  when 


CATXBPIIXABS. 


295 


his  whole  face  wai  buried  beneath  it.  It  ie  remarlca- 
ble  that,  although  this  man  swallowed  such  a  quan- 
tity of  raw  spirits  as  would  have  killed  an  European, 
yet  he  was  not  enough  intoxicated  to  fall  asleep,  and 
one  hour  was  sufficient  to  deprive  him  of  the  use  of 
his  legs,  and  again  to  set  him  up  on  them.  I  sent  out 
to  inquire  after  his  health  on  the  following  morning, 
and  he  was  found  well  and  merry,  without  the  shght- 
cst  headache  or  sickness. 

The  temperature  was  daily  above  the  freezing 
point  for  several  hours,  but  the  weather  was  thick 
and  gloomy ;  a  constant  fall  of  small  snow  rendered 
the  roads  very  soft  and  bad,  and  our  poor  dogs  had 
much  labour  in  drawing  provisions,  coals,  &c.  to  the 
Fury.  We  heard  of  several  families  having  removed 
southward  from  Pingitkalik  to  Ooglitt,  a  small  island, 
on  their  way  to  Amity ook.  One  of  our  men,  who  was 
cleaning  a  large  sea-horse's  head  which  he  had  pur- 
chased, Ibund  a  fragment  of  the  tusk  of  another  deep- 
ly embedded  in  its  nostril  or  blowhole.  It  was  three 
inches  in  length,  and  weighed  an  ounce  and  a  quarter. 
This  wus  tirmly  jammed  in,  and  extricated  with  diffi- 
culty, from  which  some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the 
furious  battles  fought  by  these  immense  animals. 

Walking  on  shore  on  the  9th,  I  found  a  great  num- 
ber of  caterpillars  crawling  about  on  the  snow,  and 
on  such  small  spots  of  land  as  lay  bare.  Amongst  the 
few  little  tufts  of  herbage  which  were  exposed,  I 
picked  about  a  dozen  young  buds  of  the  tollowing 
plants :  cerastium  alpinum,  arenaria  rubella,  saxifraga 
oppositifolia,  andromeda  tetragona,  and  salix  herba- 
cea.  We  had,  in  consequence  of  the  fineness  of  the 
day,  begun  on  this  morning  to  saw  through  the  trench 
round  the  ship,  in  order  to  liberate  her,  when  at  noon 
she  suddenly  freed  herself,  and  took  two  or  three 
heavy  rolls,  to  the  great  alarm  of  some  natives  who 
were  sitting  in  my  cabin.  Our  having  sent  so  much 
provision  to  the  Fury,  allowed  us  to  rise  two  feet  five 
inches  abaft,  and  nine  inches  forward,  so  that  it  may 


(396 


■TBATAOEM  TO  KILL  A   SEAL. 


r . 


r-  r< 


be  imagined  the  sudden  leap  of  so  large  a  body  as  i, 
ship  to  the  above  bearings  was  like  an  electric  shock. 

All  our  work  connected  with  the  supply  of  the 
Fury  was  now  over,  and,  with  the  exception  of  a  cable, 
every  thing  had  been  carried  by  Captain  Parry's  and 
my  dogs.  £ven  two  anchors,  of  twenty-two  cwt.  each, 
-'were  drawn  by  these  noble  animals  at  a  quick  trot. 
1  walked  to  Igloolik  this  morning,  and  such  was  the 
softness  of  the  road,  in  consequence  of  two  days'  fin^^ 
weather,  that  1  was  nearly  seven  hours  going  and  :• 
turning.  The  snow  huts  at  the  bone  village  we<  e  a!! 
in  ruins.  A  few  short  days,  and  these  dwellings  were 
not  to  leave  a  vestige  of  their  existence,  ov  any  token 
that  their  site  had  been  the  home  of  mnn  :  liiut  feast- 
ing, dancing,  singing,  sickness,  pain,  death,  and  mourn- 
ing had  been  seen  and  heard  during  a  whole  gloomy 
winter  under  the  shelter  of  their  roofs.  Return- 
ing along  some  partially  uncovered  ledges  of  shin- 
gle, I  caught  several  flies  which  the  warmth  of  the 
morning's  sun  had  just  brought  into  life.  The  poor 
little  creatures  were  half  torpid,  and  hopped  about  on 
the  snow  like  insects  whose  wings  had  been  burnt  in 
a  candl?. 

A  large  party  came  to  take  leave  on  the  1 1  th  from 
Ooglitt.  They  slept  on  board,  and  informed  us  of 
their  intention  to  wander  down  towards  our  last  win- 
ter quarters  during  the  approaching  summer.  Dunn, 
whom  I  had  sent  to  purchase  provisions  at  Pingitkalik 
for  my  dogs,  returned  the  same  evening  with  seven 
cwt.  My  team  had  travelled  above  sixty  miles  over 
soft  snow,  and  had  returned  perfectly  fresh  !  Large 
flocks  of  ducks  were  seen  by  Dunn  at  sea. 

I  discovered  at  this  period  thn.t  the  women  had  a 
great  dread  of  caterpillar^,  for  (  could  per?»iade  none 
of  them  to  touch  some  '  • '• !  L  ':cid  spinning  in  a  box. 
The  bare  pretence  of  having  thrown  one  into  the 
jacket  of  a  young  girl  almost  alarmed  her  into  fits. 

The  weather  continued  to  be  extremely  severe. 
Two  seals  were  observed  to  have  risen  on  to  the  ice 
Hbout  half  a  mile  astern,  and  an  Eskimaux,  properly 


STRANGERS. 


297 


provided  with  weapons,  was  sent  to  surprise  them  as 
they  \»y ;  but  after  having  ciiuvled  to  a  considerable 
distance  in  deep  snuw,  and  nearly  renched  one,  the 
animals  both  went  down.  The  method  iiRed  by  the 
man  was  to  creep  onwards  as  fust  as  he  could  whenever 
the  seal  reposed  its  head  on  the  snow,  and  to  remain 
quiet  the  instant  the  animal  looked  round ;  and  such 
was  the  power  of  imitation  in  the  hunter,  that  we 
hserved  him  with  uur  glasses  to  scrape  with  his  foot, 
.^hake  and  turn  his  head,  and  indeed  copy  all  the  mo- 
dons  of  a  seal  in  the  most  skilful  manner;  it  is  no 
wonder  therefore  that  these  animals,  whose  sight  iu 
the  air  is  very  imperfect,  should  so  often  permit  their 
enemy  to  approach  them  under  the  semblance  of  a 
companion  and  friend. 

On  the  16th,  a  party  of  five  women  came  down  to 
cover  an  extremely  neat  kayak,  which  the  carpenter 
had  made  me  from  the  best  Eskimaux  models :  hve 
well-prepared  seals^  skins  were  sufficient  for  this  pur- 
pose; and  her  entire  weight,  when  dry,  was  forty 
pounds.  We  learnt  that  several  bears  had  recently 
been  killed  on  the  northern  ice,  some  by  means  of 
arrows,  others  by  the  usual  way,  with  dogs  and  spear- 
men. 

Old  Takkalikkita  came  on  this  day  to  visit  Lis  wife's 
grave,  and  walked  fr6m  Alugnuk  alone.  It  was  re- 
markable that  this  man  should  not  have  discontinued 
this  practice,  after  so  long  a  period  had  elapsed,  and 
after  having  taken  two  new  wives,  which  he  did  with- 
in a  month  after  the  loss  of  his  first ;  but  from  all  I 
could  observe,  there  seemed  to  be  some  superstitious 
ideas  relative  to  his  own  personal  welfare,  rather  than 
any  f  reat  love  of  the  departed,  which  induced  him  to 
continue  his  visits. 

Toolemnk,  who  invariably  acted  as  master  of  the 
ceremonies  on  all  great  occasions,  brought  three  new 
people  down  with  him  this  morning:  they  had  arrived 
a  tew  days  before  from  a  place  called  Pi-lTg,  many 
days  jotirney  to  the  northward.  They  were  clean  neat 
l>eople,  in  person  as  well  as  dress  j  and  one  of  the  two 


w:. 


298 


IXTELLI6ENT  CaUPLE. 


'73:.%  V 


women  carried  a  child,  which  was  as  well  washed  as 
most  European  infants.  The  whole  party  were  well 
clothed  in  fine  deer-skins.  My  worthy  atata  and  his 
good  lady  had  given  the  strangers  full  instructions  how 
and  what  to  beg,  which  they  began  putting  in  force  as 
soon  as  I  had  given  them  all  presents,  and  no  more  ap- 
peared to  be  forthcoming ;  but  I  turned  all  the  party 
out  in  a  moment,  to  the  evident  mortification  of  Toole- 
mak,  who,  I  found,  had  been  boasting  he  could  make 
his  Kabloona  son  give  them  whatever  they  wanted. 

On  the  23d,  Ang-ma-loo-too-ing-ft,  widow  of  Innook- 
khioo,  walked  down  to  the  ships  all  alone,  a  distance 
of  about  fifteen  miles.  Having  slept  on  board  the  Fury, 
and  eaten  ail  she  could  get,  she  came  to  pass  the  next 
twenty-four  hours  at  the  Hecla,  where  she  expected 
to  meet  some  of  her  people,  and  to  be  carried  home  by 
them.  While  waiting  the  arrival  of  her  countrymen 
she  sat  in  my  cabin,  and  i  had  an  opportunity  of  ob- 
serving, that  a  pretty  woman  in  any  part  of  the  world 
is  perfectly  acquainted  with  her  charms.  As  I  sat 
quietly  drawing  at  my  table,  and  appeared  to  be  taking 
no  notice  of  her,  she  walked  about  my  cabin  until  she 
procured  a  good  station  opposite  my  large  glass,  and 
there  amused  herself  by  putting  her  features  and  hair 
into  the  most  becoming  shapes,  smiling  and  placing  her 
head  in  various  pretty  postures,  looking  at  her  teeth 
and  rubbing  them  with  a  piece  of  paper.  But  her 
eyes,  which  were  really  very  handsome,  occupied  her 
chief  attention,  and  for  half  an  hour  she  continued  to 
twinkle  them  in  a  most  amazing  manner;  at  length, 
unable  to  contain  her  admiration  any  longer,  she  turn- 
ed round  to  me,  and  exclaimed,  that  her  ^^  eyes  were 
very  pretty  and  good." 

Nine  other  Eskimaux  came  in  the  evening,  and,  ns 
usual,  all  the  party  slept  in  my  cabin.  Ooyarrakhioo, 
and  his  wife  Tabbi,  remained  with  us  by  a  general  in- 
vitation until  the  26th.  The  man  had  some  days  be- 
fore been  entirely  dressed  in  English  clothes,  and  being 
tall  and  well  shaped,  made  a  most  respectable  figure 
in  a  long  and  fashionable  coat,  tight  grey  pantaloons, 


TWO   CUBIOVS   ANECDOTES. 


299 


and  a  round  hat,  of  which  he  was  very  proud.  He 
received  at  different  times  five  or  six  white  shirts,  and 
these  he  wore  one  over  the  other,  always  keeping^  the 
cleanest  outside,  and  the  collar  as  high  as  possible 
above  his  black  neckcloth.  His  wife  had  made  him  a  kind 
of  great  coat  of  green  baize,  in  imitation  of  our  English 
ones,  and  ornamented  it  with  white  cuffs  and  collar. 
The  poor  fellow  therefore  thought  in  good  earnest 
that  he  was  a  Kabloona,  and  entered  into  all  our  par- 
ties and  pursuits  very  creditably.  Both  himself  and 
bis  wife  were  naturally  inclined  to  be  cleanly  and  well 
behaved,  and  each  possessed  great  information :  from 
the  man  we  obtained  clear  well-told  descriptions  of 
the  occupations  of  the  hunters ;  while  the  woman  gave 
very  spirited  and  amusing  accounts  of  the  customs  and 
superstitions  of  the  tribe. 

There  were  two  remarkable  stories  told  me  by 
Tabbi,  which  I  scarcely  credited,  but  which  Toolemak 
instantly  confirmed,  when  [  questioned  him  in  com- 
pany with  Captain  Parry. 

"  Two  years  ago,  some  people  came  from  near  Ak- 
koo-lee,  and  brought  a  report,  that  during  a  very  griev- 
ous famine  which  had  been  experienced  the  preced- 
ing winter,  one  party  of  Eskimaux  had  attacked,  kill- 
ed, and  eaten  another  party :  they  subsisted  on  the 
flesh  in  a  frozen  state,  but  never  ate  it  cooked  or 
thawed." 

"  Murders  are  frequently  committed  at  Too-noo-negh 
and  Okko,  but  never  openly :  the  victim  is  watched 
until  he  sleeps,  and  then  stabbed  in  the  heart  with  a 
panna.  His  brothers  or  male  relatives  take  no  im- 
mediate notice,  but  watch  quietly  for  their  revenge, 
'which  it  is  difficult  to  satisfy,  as  the  murderer  never 
sleeps  at  night  when  others  rest,  but  walks  continually 
about,  during  which  he  is  in  no  danger :  when  the 
other  people  are  awake,  he  lies  down  to  sleep,  and 
thus  escapes  for  a  great  length  of  time ;  as  no  murders 
are  perpetrated  while  any  one  is  nesi  the  devoted 
person,  or  while  he  himself  is  awake." 


tj 


I 


t-i 


K    '■ 


500 


DUCKS  FROCUItEO. 


On  the  26th  the  weather,  which  for  some  days  had 
been  very  bad,  became  milder,  and  1  determined  on 
driving  my  visitors  home  to  Alugnuk.  Mr.  Bird  and 
Dunn  accompanied  me,  in  hopes  that  we  might  procure 
some  ducks.  We  found  about  thirty  natives  at  the 
settlement,  all  very  glad  to  see  us,  and  on  their  best 
behaviour ;  almost  all  of  them  had  frequently  of  late 
been  lodged  by  me,  and  they  again  hoped  to  get  a  warm 
sleep,  and  plenty  to  eat.  As  I  took  a  tent,  &c.  we  were 
quite  independent,  but  I  believe  we  could  easily  have 
procured  house-room  had  we  wanted  it.  Nannow, 
father  to  my  last  visitors,  and  a  fine,  respectable  old 
man,  was  all  attention,  and  wherever  he  might  be  liv- 
ing since  his  arrival  at  Igloolik,  parties  always  found 
him  the  same,  and  unsolicitous  for  presents. 

The  morning  of  the  27th  was  extremely  fine  and 
clear ;  no  floating  ice  was  seen,  but  one  boundless  and 
shining  space  of  calm  blue  water.  We  procured  a  few 
more  ducks,  and  want  of  ammunition  compelled  us  to 
return.  The  men  in  the  kayaks  considered  themselves 
amply  rewarded  by  receiving  the  skins  of  the  female 
ducks  to  make  jackets  of  for  summer  wear,  but  the  bril- 
liant males  we  kept  as  specimens.  The  fat  attached  to  the 
skin  of  these  birds  is  considered  as  the  highest  luxury 
when  sucked  raw  from  a  newly-killed  bird.  Men, 
women,  and  children,  seem  so  much  delighted  with  its 
taste,  that  the  happy  one  who  is  in  the  act  of  sucking 
the  skin  is  gazed  upon  by  the  others  with  the  same 
wishing  eye  as  dogs  cast  at  those  who  are  eating.  The 
land  about  Ahigouk  was  very  slightly  uncovered,  and 
the  largest  space  of  bare  shingle  was  just  sufficient  for 
the  floor  of  our  tent.  Ice  for  many  miles  in  extent  had 
broken  off  since  Captain  Parry  went  to  Pingitkalik, 
but  the  open  water  was  still  about  sixteen  miles  from 
the  ships. 

Captain  Pariy  sent  a  party  of  four  for  the  purpose 
of  making  some  stay  near  the  water,  and  borrowed 
our  small  boat  for  them,  in  consequence  of  the  Fury's  j 
boats  having,  in  a  most  singular  manner,  sunk  during 
the  winter  below  the  upper  surface  of  the  sea  ice  on 


TOOLSMAK  TAKES  LEAVE. 


301 


if  I 
I    .rii 


some  days  had 
determined  on 
Mr.  Bird  and 
B  might  procure 
natives  at  the 
id  on  their  hest 
Bquently  of  late 
?A  to  get  a  warm 
jnt,  &c.  we  were 
)uld  easily  have 
;d   it.     Nannow, 
respectable  old 
he  might  be  liv- 
les  always  found 
sents. 

remely  fine  and 
me  boundless  and 
e  procured  a  few 
compelled  us  to 
dered  themselves 
[ins  of  the  female 
eear,  but  the  bril- 
fat  attached  to  the 
le  highest  luxury 
illed   bird.     Men, 
ielighted  with  its 
he  act  of  sucking 
rs  with  the  same 
are  eating.     The 
y  uncovered,  and 
just  sufficient  for 
■lies  in  extent  had 
It  to  Pingitkalik, 
ixteen  miles  from 

for  the  purpose 
er,  and  borrowed 
nee  of  the  Fury's 
mer,  sank  during 

of  the  sea  ice  on 


which  they  had  been  placed,  and  they  were  now  solidly 
fixed  and  full  of  water.  Several  natives  came  over 
the  island  from  Kayaktarioo,  and  all  reported  having 
crossed  several  deer  tracks  not  far  from  the  ships,  but 
the  weather  was  &  .  v-  ry  cold  and  windy  that  no  per- 
son felt  inclined  to*^'^  and  look  after  the  new  comers. 

June  1st.  May  r?  ]  now  passed,  yet  such  had  been 
the  severity  of  the  season,  that,  with  the  exception  of 
a  few  days  in  the  beginning  of  the  month,  the  thermo- 
meter rarely  rose  at  noon  to  the  freezing  point,  and  at 
night  fell  many  degrees  below  it.  This  backwardness 
of  the  weather  very  much  retarded  an  expedition  I 
was  prepared  to  make  to  the  southward  and  westward, 
as  from  experience  1  had  before  found  how  impractica- 
ble it  would  be  to  travel  until  we  could  procure  water 
for  our  support,  without  thawing  snow. 

On  the  5th,  we  heard  that  poor  Togorlat,  of  whom 
I  have  often  spoken  as  a  Winter  Island  acquaintance, 
was  dead.  She  had  been  ailing  for  some  time,  and  we 
rather  expected  her  death  than  her  recovery,  for  she 
had  fallen  ill  of  a  complaint  in  her  stomach,  which 
had  always  proved  fhtal  to  the  £skimaux  when  once 
obliged  to  take  to  their  bed. 

Deer,  but  in  what  number  I  know  not,  had  been  seen 
1  at  the  place  where  Togorlat  died,  which  was  at  some 
I  little  station  near  Amity  ook. 

Toolemak  and  his  wife  came  to  see  me  previous  to 
I  my  departure,  which  was  named  for  the  morrow  ;  but 
Isoon  found  it  was  only  an  excuse  to  beg,  which  caus- 
ed their  instant  dismissal ;  1  had  indeed  so  loaded  this 
couple  with  presents  of  all  descriptions,  tkat  I  was  uni- 
Uersally  blamed  as  having  spoiled  them.    Some  others, 
Iwho  pretended  also  to  pay  a  farewell  visit,  were  wise 
I  enough  not  to  beg,  and  accordingly  received  such  abun- 
Idance  of  gifts,  that  I  heard  my  worthy  atata  and  amama 
hbusing  me  on  deck  in  every  key  to  which  they  could 
Iraise  their  voice ;  as  Toolemak  however  was  uncertain 
[of  seeing  me  again  before  he  went  on  his  purposed 
[nmrner  journey,  he  very  politely  desired  me  to  give 
compliments    to    the  kabloona^s    annatko   (king 
26 


*,f^, 


if 


t     c 


•!■:    ;|i 


802 


jeUSNET  IN  8BAB0H  OF 


•George)  ia  these  friendly  terms :  *^  Toolemak  okadlek- 
pok  (speaks)  Kinni  A&si  (or  king  George  IV.)  welly 
well  I  taank  you.'' 


,  -i.-.'jir,.   .fi     t  -:.    i-    t 


U.8 


:s  ^ 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Journey  in  search  of  a  western  sea,  and  return->-Arrival  of  stran- 
gers—Fish procured— A  river  discovered — Mice— Mr.  Hoppner's 
two  excursions — Walrus  sinks  a  boat— The  ice  brealis  up — Rea- 
.  sons  for  the  ships  returning  home— The  ships  make  an  offing. 

JOURNET  IX   SEARCH  OF  THE   ^WESTERN   SEA. 

Nothing  can  be  more  uninteresting  to  readers  ol" 
journals  than  a  long  detail  of  courses  and  distances, 
which  lead  to  no  object  of  importance ;  I  therefore 
shall  curtail  as  much  as  possible  my  report  to  Captain  j 
Parry,  of  my  unsuccessful  attempt  to  reach  the  West- 
ern Sea,  spoken  of  as  being  one  day's  journey  from! 
Igloolik. 

On  the  7th,  the  weather  being  tolerably  favourable,] 
tire  left  the  ships  at  noon.  Alexander  Gordon  (Green- 
land mate)  and  George  Dunn  were  the  men  who  ac- 
companied me.  Our  sledge,  which  weighed  191  pounds,] 
carried  twelve  hundred  weight  more,  besides  my  men] 
and  myself,  who  all  rode  while  on  the  sea  ice. 

Sleeping  by  the  way,  we  arrived  at  noon,  on  the! 
8th,  at  the  head  of  Quilliam  Creek,  and  from  the  mouu-l 
tains  near  it  obtained  a  view  of  what  we  supposed  tol 
be  the  plain  over -which  the  Eskimaux  pass  to  the  sea.l 
It  ran  in  a  S.S.E.  direction ;  but  though  the  bearingsj 
were  unfavourable,  we  were  in  hopes  that  it  would 
turn  after  a  few  miles  to  the  westward  ;  besides  thisJ 
it  was  the  only  place  that  was  passable  on  account  ojj 
its  flatness,  all  the  neighbouring  laud  being  mountainov 
and  rugged. 

In  the  evening  my  men,  rambling  in  chase  of  deerj 
saw  the  tracks  of  five  different  bears  on  the  snow,  an| 


\ 


A  WESTERN   SEA. 


303 


!<i!l 


emak  okadlek- 
rgelV.)  welly 


1— Arrival  of  stran- 
ice— Mr.  Hoppner's 
ce  breaks  up— Rea- 
make  an  offing. 

ESTEBN   SEA. 

ig  to  readers  ol 
>8  and  distances, 
nee ;  1  therefore 
eport  to  Captain 
reach  the  West- 
w's  journey  from 

irably  favourable, 
r  Gordon  (Green- 
the  men  who  ac- 
ighed  191  pounds, 
,  besides  roy  men 
e  sea  ice. 
at  noon,  on  the 
nd  from  the  mouu- 
\t  we  supposed  to 
ax  pass  to  the  sea. 
)ugh  the  bearings 
pes  that  it  would! 
ard;  besides  this, 
jble  on  account  o 
being  mountainous 

-  in  chase  of  deer 
B  on  the  snow,  m 


one  of  these  animals  had  climbed  a  mountain's  side,, 
which  neither  of  my  people  could  creep  up  on  account, 
of  its  steepness.  ' 

On  the  morning  of  the  9th  we  directed  our  course 
over  the  plain  :  it  was  covered  to  the  depth  of  some 
feet  with  snow,  while  on  our  right  a  high  ridge  of  gra- 
nite mountains,  whose  pinnacles  alone  were  bare,  ex- 
tended as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  A  heavy  N.W. 
gale  with  thick  snow,  at  a  temperature  of  25°,  soon  set 
in,  and  incommoded  us  extremely.  Our  faces  and  hands 
were  painfully  swollen  by  exposure  to  it,  and  our  track 
was  not  seen  for  above  halt  a  mile.  After  eight  hours 
walking  we  lay  for  the  night  on  the  snow,  the  gale 
continuing  unabated. 

It  was  not  until  five  p.  m.  of  the  10th  that  the  snow 
ceased,  and  we  ascended  some  snow-covered  hills  in  a 
westerly  direction,  but  with  infinite  labour,  as  the  re- 
cent fall  was  so  soft  that  the  dogs  sunk  to  their  bellies 
at  every  step,  and  even  our  snow  shoes  were  rather  an. 
encumbrance  than  of  any  assistance.  In  the  course  of 
two  hours  we  reached  the  top  of  the  hills,  whence  to 
our  mortification  we  saw  a  chain  of  mountains  lying 
immediately  across  our  path  at  about  three  miles  dis- 
tance. A  return  of  heavy  snow  again  compelled  us  to 
pitch  our  tent,  in  vt^hich  we  remained  very  uncomfort- 
able all  night  at  a  temperature  of  20°.  The  snow 
I  continued  falling  until  half  past  three  p.  m.  of  the  11th, 
when  I  set  forward  to  attempt  a  passage  amongst  the 
mountains,  which  were  now  as  completely  and  as  deeply 
covered  as  in  mid  winter,  and  we  absolutely  waded 
through  the  soft  snow.  Two  hours'  exertion  brought 
us  to  what  appeared  apiece  of  good  fiat  table-land,, 
when,  to  our  infinite  disappointment,  we  found  ourselves 
on  the  brink  of  a  precipice,  from  whose  foot  the  rag- 
ged granite  mountains  again  rose.  On  stopping  the 
Uledge  it  sank  deep  in  a  snow  wreath,  and  all  our  ef- 
forts to  move  it  were  of  no  avail,  until,  after  an  hour's. 
liabourV  we  unloaded,  cleared,  and  reloaded  it,  having, 
Ibeen  obliged  to  throw  away  above  a  hundred  weight  of. 
bach  articles  as  could  be  most  easily  spared.    Onstttrtv- 


■I  1 '  If 


h$ 


' 


li'  ^  i\ 


;,  I 


i:!;  :.^ii 


-i  :; 


304 


JOVBXEY   IN   8EABCH   OF 


^"f.    f 
,i.ii 


fi':  l^ 

mJ     1 


M  '■ 


I    I 


km; 


r 

■lit,  ;■ 


ing,  it  again  overset,  and  once  more  our  labour  was  re- 
peated ;  but  ourselves  and  dogs  were  so  fatigued  and 
discouraged  with  the  severity  of  the  weather  and  the 
heaviness  of  travelling,  that  I  almost  determined  on 
leaving  the  sledge  to  its  fate,  perceiving  how  impossi- 
ble it  was  for  even  an  unloaded  man  to  ascend  or  to 
make  any  progress  amongst  the  mountains  before  us. 
At  last,  however,  1  resolved  on  returning  to  the  lowei- 
land,  and  travelUng  along  it  until  1  should  find  some  in- 
dications of  an  opening  through  the  mountains  to  the 
westward.  Seven  hour's  passage  over  the  plain  brought 
us  to  a  small  bare  patch  of  shingle  limestone,  on  which 
we  tented.  A  gale  and  heavy  unceasing  snow  confjoed 
us  here  until  five  f.  m.  on  the  14th.  I  have  seldom 
passed  a  more  dreary  time  than  this  ;  for  the  sun  being 
at  this  season  always  above  the.  horizon  at  midnight, 
and  yet  not  being  seen  on  account  of  the  snow,  caused 
a  continual  and  most  fatiguing  glare,  extremely  paintul 
to  the  eyes  :  our  view  was  limited  to  about  100  yards; 
and  this,  with  the  discontented  whining  of  our  dogs, 
was  altogether  tormenting  beyond  expression. 

Before  starting  from  our  place  of  continement,  I  ob- 
tained the  latitude  and  longitude,  the  sun  having  shown 
itself  for  a  short  period,  Knd  for  the  first  time  since 
seven  days.     We  now  travelled  for  five  hours  over  the 
plain,  on  which  we  observed  the  track  of  a  bear  and 
several  deer  recently  printed  on  the  snow.     On  stop- 
ping at  a  rocky  point,  we  saw  the  ships  with  a  glass  at 
about  twenty-five  miles  north-east  of  us.     The  constant  j 
trending  of  the  mountains  to  the  eastward  had  constrain- 
ed us  to  keep  in  a  most  unfavourable  course  ;  and  1  j 
now  perceived  that  we  must  have  taken  a  wrong  route, 
for  it  was  utterly  impossible  that  any  Eskimaux  sledge 
could  have  passed  over  the  mountains  at  whose  feetwc 
had  been  travelling,  and  yet  1  knew  of  no  other  wayb)i 
which  they  might  make  a  western  course.     1  did  not, 
however,  give  up  all  hopes,  when  1  observed  that  the 
hills  here  became  somewhat  lower,  and,  nbove  all,  be-| 
gan  to  trend  to  the  south-west ;  which,  in  a  certain  de- 
gree, corresponded  with  the  Eskimaux  description  oil 


A  WESTERN-  sea; 


305: 


tbe  land  over  which  they  passed.  At  the  foot  of  the 
point  lay  a  long  narrow  lake,  and  near  it  a  small  but 
deep  ravine  ;  on  tbe  shingle  ridges  were  numerous  Es- 
kimaux  circles,  and  piles  of  stones.  A  golden  plover,, 
the  first  we  had  yet  seen,  passed  us  on  the  wing.  Tra- 
velling about  three  miles  round  the  point,  we  passed 
the  night,  which  was  bitter  cold,  on  the  snow.  The 
(logs  here  broke  my  thermometer. 

The  l&th  was  thick  and  cloudy  with  a  piercing  N. 
\V.  gale  ;  we  however  proceeded  without  having  any 
fixed  object  to  guide  us,  until  two  of  the  dogs  were  so 
exhausted,  that  we  were  obliged  to  tent  for  some  hours 
on  the  snow  to  recover  them.  In  fact,  my  whole  team 
were  much  distressed,  as  th6y  were  unaccustomed  to 
land  travelling,  and  the  depth  and  softness  of  the  snow 
caused  the  sledge  to  hang  constantly  as  a  dead  weight ' 
upon  them.  We  again  went  forward,  after  resting, 
until  one  a.  m.  of  the  16th,  when  we  tented  on  some 
rocks  of  serpentine,  amongst  which  we  procured  abun- 
dance of  water,  a  luxury  we  had  as  yet  enjoyed  but 
sparingly;  owing  to  our  road  having  been  constantly 
over  a  snow-covered  plain,  we  could  only  procure  it 
by  thawing,  and  in  consequence  our  stock  of  fuel  was 
much  reduced.  WiB  here  found  the  first  flower  I  had 
I  yet  seen ;  it  was  the  beautiful  little  purple  saxifraga 
loppositifolia,  whose  blossoms  appear  before  its  leaves. 

The   16th  was  tolerably  fine,  and  {  determined  on 
[enjoying  the  comfort  of  a  good  dry  rock  until  the  eve- 
ping.     In  the  meantime  we  repaired  our  snow  shoes,  . 
and  afforded  much  relief  to  our  blistered  feet  by  bath- 
ing them.     Deer  tracks  were  here  very  numerous,  but 
we  saw  no  animals,  owing  to  the  constant  whining  and 
iightingof  our  (logs,  which  invariably  drove  everything 
from  us.  Starting  at  ni^ht,  we  traversed  a  long  and,  as  far 
as  we  could  discern  through  the  thick  weather,  a  broad 
lake,  and  then  entered  on  so  rocky  and  uneven  a  coun- 
Ilry  that  we  proceeded  but  slowly.    At  the  expiration 
lol'  nine  hours  we  tented  on  a  small  rock  in  the  centre 
lofa  second  large  lake,  and  could  just  discern  theraoun-^ 
Itains  at  about  a  mile  on  the  right.        *    ^  *  h  »  .¥f  ?*i 


li;: 


,.  ,:..:)' 


6    ii- 

I  vil 


^'4 


306 


joxnarvY  ttr  seabor  ot 


ill' 


•■  '      H; 


\.l\''. 


Ifili: 


A  fresh  and  cold  easterly  nvind  was  blowings  alt  the 
17th,  which  day  1  occupied  by  taking  a  nine  hours' 
walk  amongst  the  mountains,  in  order  to  see  if  I  could 
find  any  passage  to  the  Western  Sea.  From  the  high- 
est part  of  the  range  we  commanded  a  view  of  about 
fifteen  miles,  but  all  equally  unfavourable.  Dunn  on 
our  return  I  .iled  a  doe,  and  we  gave  the  better 
half  of  it  to  the  dogs,  which  required  refreshment, 
their  daily  allowance  being  only  one  pound  of  wal- 
rus fiesh  each.  1  here  obtained  the  latitude  and  longi- 
tude. 

On  the  18th  we  proceeded  about  eight  miles  S.  E. 
over  a  lake  to  a  low  point,  but  on  arriving  at  it,  such 
a  heavy  snow  storm  set  in,  that  we  could  not  see  half 
a  mile  in  any  direction  :  we  therefore  tented,  and  while 
doing  so,  a  large  buck,  which  passed  without  observing 
us,  was  killed  by  Dunn.  Of  this  animal,  as  the  former, 
we  gave  the  greater  part  to  the  hungry  dogs.  The 
night  was  bleak  and  so  tempestuous,  that  we  constantly 
expected  the  tent  would  be  blown  over.  A  silvery 
gull  hovered  over,  and  teased  us  with  its  screaming 
for  several  hours. 

-  We  found  that  the  snow  had  fallen  to  a  great  depth 
during  the  night.  Towards  noon  it  ceased,  but  the 
piercing  cold  gale  continued,  and  the  drift  flew  about 
m  clouds.  In  the  afternoon  we  quitted  the  point  for 
another,  still  S.  E.  and  about  seven  miles  distant.  Ar- 
riving at  this,  on  which  we  saw  seventeen  deer  at  once, 
we  observed  a  distant  ridge  bearing  south,  and  en- 
couraged by  seeing  the  land  turning  a  little  in  the  de- 
sired direction,  we  proceeded  for  it  with  the  wind 
blowing  so  sharply  in  our  faces  as  to  cause  them  to 
swell  and  be  very  painful.  Having  travelled  three 
hours  through  soft  snow,  we  discovered  that  the  moun- 
tains made  a  most  provoking  sweep  to  a  very  distant! 
range  S.  £.  All  my  hopes  of  making  westing  now 
ceased,  and  I  was  obliged  to  give  up  the  attempt.  I 
therefore  moved  over  the  plain  to  the  foot  of  the 
mountains,  and  there  tented,  determined  on  waiting 
until  the  gale  should  moderate,  when  I  would  retrace 


A  WSSTEBN  SEA* 


W 


111 


lowinf  all  the 
a  nine  hours' 
»  see  if  1  could 
i'roDi  the  high- 
I  view  of  about 
ble.  Dunn  on 
ive  the  better 
d  refreshment, 
pound  of  wal- 
Itude  and  longi- 

ight  miles  S.  E. 
iving  at  it,  such 
aid  not  see  half 
ented,  and  while 
ithout  observing 
il,  as  the  former, 
gry  dogs.  The 
hat  we  constantly 
over.  A  siWery 
th  its  screaming 

to  a  great  depth 
ceased,  but  the 
e  drift  flew  about 
;ed  the  point  for 
dies  distant.    Ar- 
;een  deer  at  once, 
jg  south,  and  en- 
fa  little  in  the  de- 
It  with  the   wind 
;o  cause  them  to 
travelled  three 
fed  that  the  moun- 
to  a  very  distant 
:ing  westing  now 
the  attempt.    1 
the  foot  of  the 
.liined  on  waiting 
[n  1  would  retrace 


my  steps  to  Quilliam  Creek,  from  whence,  if  the 
season  permitted,  I  would  proceed  in  some  other  di- 
rection. 

The  N.  E.  gale  continued  during  the  early  part  of 
the  day ;  yet,  I  would  have  set  out  in  despite  of  our 
swelled  faces,  had  it  not  been  that  the  strength  of  the 
wind  prevented  our  walking,  by  catching  and  turning 
up  our  broad  snow  shoes  in  such  a  manner  as  fre- 
-•uently  to  trip  us  up.  On  setting  out  we  made  a 
..reed  marci),  and  went  the  two  last  days'  journeys  be> 
fore  we  tented  on  the  little  rocky  isle,  where  we  had 
sle;  ''  on  the  17th.  In  the  course  of  our  walk  we  saw 
numfc.^ous  deer,  some  flocks  of  king  ducks,  and  a  couple 
of  gulls.  The  wind,  which  had  come  round  to  the 
N.W.  was  so  cold  during  the  night,  that  water  froze 
solid  in  the  kettle,  which  we  had  with  us  in  the  closed 
tent  as  we  slept. 

The  wind  continued  during  the  21st,  and  in  the  af- 
ternoon we  set  out,  but  were  soon  detained,  in  conse- 
quence of  one  of  the  dogs  slipping  his  harness  and 
giving  chase  to  a  couple  of  deer,  which  he  pursued 
into  the  mountains  with  great  spirit,  and  was  soon  out 
of  sight,  regardless  of  all  our  cries  to  stop  him.  We 
waited  for  some  time,  and  at  last  gave  him  up  for  lost, 
when,  at  the  expiration  of  a  couple  of  hours,  and  af- 
ter having  advanced  two  or  three  miles,  we  saw  him 
tracking  our  footsteps,  and  coming  back  much  fatigued. 
We  travelled  nine  hours  on  this  day,  yet  very  slowly, 
owing  to  my  having  sprained  my  foot  amongst  the 
rocks  some  days  before,  and  the  pain  having  now  be- 
come very  troublesome.  Soon  after  midnight  we  ar- 
rived at  the  rock  on  which  we  had  slept  on  the  16thv 
Dunn  shot  a  fine  buck  near  the  tent,  and  we  saw  se 
veral  other  deer  while  he  was  in  chase  of  it;  I  took 
my  gun  from  the  sledge,  and  was  occupied  in  loading 
it,  when  the  dogs,  by  mutual  consent,  rushed  after  the 
deer,  and  notwithstanding  the  fatigue  they  had  pre- 
viously undergone,  ran  off  with  the  loaded  sledge  at 
I  such  a  rate,  that  neither  Gordon  nor  myself  could  catch 
them,  until  a  broad  rock  brought  them  up. 


^ 


lU 


'  I 
J 


308 


JOVBNET  IN   SEARCH  OF 


I  <] ; 


if,  -vf 


mi' 

m'' 


lilt    I 


i    I 


.      5. 


P      ?. 


If:    '■ 


My  leg  being  much  swollen  and  inramed,  I  deter- 
mined on .  resting  for  the  day.  Dunn  went  out  and 
shot  a  very  large  doe,  which  enabled  us  to  give  the  dogs 
such  a  quantity  of  meat  and  ofial,  with  their  usual  al- 
lowance of  walrus  flesh,  that  they  could  absolutely  eat 
no  more.  I  observed  that  when  nearly  satisfied  they 
paid  little  attention  to  the  venison,,  but  sought  out 
pieces  of  walrus  flesh,  and  ate  them  in  preference, 
even  though  they  were  almost  dried  up  by  having  been 
such  a  length  of  time  in  the  meat  bags. 

The  23rd  was  the  first  fine  day  we  had  seen  for 
several  weeks,  the  sun  shining  v;ith  great  splendour 
and  warmth,  and  softening  the  snow  to  such  a  degree, 
that  we  were  above  knee-deep  m  every  step.  We 
however  waded  forward  for  nine  hours,  and  at  length 
reached  the  point  whence  we  had  seen  the  ships.  We 
here  found  the  valley  quite  flooded,  and  the  ravine  be- 
ginning to  run.  While  tenting,  we  observed  a  fox 
prowling  on  a  hill  side,  and  heard  him  for  some  hours 
afterwards  in  different  places,  imitating  the  cry  of  the 
brent  goose. 

,  It  is  worthy  of  remtirk,  that  after  the  sultry  day  a 
very  cold  night  set  in,  and  though  the  sun  was  about 
:y  high  at  midnight,  and  casting  a  painful  glare  on 
every  thing  around,  all  the  pools  of  water  were  co- 
vered with  ice  half  an  inch  in  thickness.  This  sudden 
change  gave  us  great  torment  in  cur  hands  and  fucc9, 
which  were  quite  scorched  and  swollen  by  exposure  to 
the  sun,  so  that  we  could  scarcely  sleep  from  the, 
pain  it  occasioned  us. 

The  24th  was  as  the  preceding  day.  I  found  the 
country  so  universally  flooded,  that  I  gave  up  all  hopes 
of  reaching  Quilliam  Creek,  and  therefore  determi- 
ned, during  the  coldest  part  of  the  night,  while  the 
snow  was  slightly  crusted  on  the  top,  to  make  for  the 
ships.  In  the  evening  we  set  out,  and  after  wading 
rather  than  walking  tor  eight  hours,  arrived  at  four  in 
the  morning  of  the  ^bih  at  the  sea  side,  about  eight 
miles  from  the  ships.  Never  did  I  get  into  my 
blanket  bag  with  more  satuifaction  than  after  this  day's 


wt<r"» 


•''  f-f*  aj'irfs.T.'t.'.T'"-!?''?. 


=  -fi^^rjfii  y 


iroed,  I  deter- 
went  ont  and 
)  give  the  dogs 
their  usual  al- 
absolutely  eat 
satisfied  they 
)Ut  sought  out 
in  preference, 
by  having  been 

J  had  seen  fcr 

rreat  splendour 

'such  a  degree, 

/ery  step.    Wc 

1,  and  at  length 

the  ships.    We 

d  the  ravine  be- 

observed  a  fox 

for  some  hours. 

jg  the  cry  of  the 

the  sultry  day  a 
e  sun  was  about 
lainful  glare  on 

water  were  co- 
ss.    This  sudden 

lands  and  faces, 
n  by  exposure  to 

sleep  from   the, 

lay.    I  found  the 
rave  up  all  hopes 
erefore  determi- 
night,  while  the 
to  make  for  the 
-ind  after  wading 
irrived  at  four  in 
iide,  about  eight 
1  get  into  my 
m  after  this  day'^ 


A  WESTBRK  SBl. 


30d 


journey.  Dunn  shot  a  brown  and  ash-coloured  crane 
(ardea  Canadensis,)  which  pitched  near  us  :  it  appear- 
ed quite  exhausted  for  want  of  food. 

At  four  A.  M.  on  the  26th,  we  waded  for  eight  hours 
to  the  ship,  having  continually  to  extricate  the  sledge^ 
when  amongst  the  hummocky  ice  ;  at  about  a  mile 
astern  of  the  Hecia,  it  was  so  completely  buried,  that 
all  our  efforts  were  in  vain,  and  we  were  obliged  to 
make  a  signal  for  assistance,  ourselves  and  dogs  being 
quite  exhausted.  The  shlp^s  company  soon  came  to 
our  relief,  and  we  arrived  safe  on  board. 

During  my  absence  of  nineteen  days,  several  natives 
had  taken  their  final  dr>parlure  from  Igloolik  in  order 
to  ramble  during  the  summer  to  other  settlements,  as 
was  their  yearly  custom.  Amongst  others,  our  friend 
Ooyarraokhioo  and  his  wife  Tabbi  came  to  take  their 
leave,  to  the  regret  of  every  one,  as  well  as  them- 
selves. 1  was  sorry  to  hear  of  their  departure,  as  I 
lost  in  them  the  most  intelligent  and  companionable 
of  the  tribe,  and  had  now  no  one  to  apply  lo  for  in- 
formation, or  rather,  1  knew  no  one  capable  of  afford- 
ing it. 

Several  strangers  had  arrived  from  a  place  called 
A-kood-niik,  which  they  all  agreed  in  saying  was  five 
(lays  to  the  i\.  W.  These  people  brought  most  in- 
teresting information,  which  was,  that  in  the  preced- 
ing year,  two  very  large  ships  resemblmg  ours,  had 
been  wrecked  at  the  above  place ;  one  still  lay  on  her 
broadside,  the  other  was  aground,  but  upright,  and 
both,  as  far  as  1  could  learn,  were  dismasted.  The 
Kabloonas,  soon  after  being  cast  away,  took  to  their 
boats  and  put  to  sea  With  the  crew  of  one  ship  were 
two  women,  as  we  supposed,  for  they  were  described 
ns  having  no  breeches,  but  long  clothes  hiding  their 
legs.  The  story  of  the  strangers  was  well  told  ;  but 
the  strongest  confirmation  of  their  assertions  was,  that 
I  they  bad  sledges  made  of  the  painted  rail-work  of  a 

lip;  and  a  cross  piece  of  one  was  composed  of  a  head 

I  stave  of  a  cask,  on  which  ^^  Bread'^  was  painted.  They 

had  also  spears,  eye-shades,  whip  handles,  &c.  of  paint- 


•i 


•  1=1 


!'l 


310 


A   SUMMEB  EXCCBSIOy. 


!>'• 


\ 


ed  wood  ;  some  of  the  Homen  had  anchor  buttons,  ami 
one  was  procured  which  had  a  crest  on  it.  As  these 
accounts  were  obtained  during  nny  absence,  I  am  un- 
able to  state  any  thing  fiirther  than  what  1  heard  or. 
my  arrival,  for  the  strangers  had  been  so  anxiotjsl} 
l]uestioned  by  every  one,  that  I  found  them  quite  puz- 
zled, and  incapable  of  giving  any  suhiitional  informa- 
tion. Mr.  Hoppner  having  volunteered  his  servic(>i) 
to  endeavour  to  reach  Akoodnak,  Captain  Parry  pur- 
posed sending  him  there,  if  any  favourable  opportunity 
should  offer. 

Captain  I'arry  still  remaining  absent  at  a  fiahing-placc 
on  my  first  arrival  at  the  ships,  1  went  with  Mr.  Bird 
to  pass  a  few  days  shooting  on  the  high  land  of  Cape 
Matthew  Smith,  which  promised  by  its  appearance  to 
abound  in  deer.  My  sledge  left  us  tented  there,  and 
we  remained  five  days,  but  without  seeing  any  other 
creatures  than  a  few  ducks.  We  were  wetted  to  the 
skin  every  day  on  this  summer  shooting  excursion,  but 
the  heavy  rains  completely  cleared  the  land,  and  the 
ice  also,  of  what  remained  of  winter's  snow  ;  and  when 
the  sledge  came  to  bring  us  back,  we  travelled  for  ma- 
ny miles  through  beautifully  transparent  water,  which 
covered  the  sea  ice  to  the  depth  of  from  six  inches  to  a 
foot  or  two.  The  only  way  by  which  this  body  of 
fresh  water  discharged  itself  was  through  the  nume- 
rous seal  holes,  each  of  which  had  such  an  eddy  round 
it  that  it  was  difficult  to  stand  near. 

A  party  of  people  who  came  to  take  leave,  all  as- 
sured us  that  they  were  going  immediately  to  the 
wrecked  ships ;  Captain  Parry  therefore  thought  this  a 
favourable  opportunity  for  the  departure  of  Mr.  Hopp- 
ner, who  was  accordingly  despatched  with  three  men 
and  a  fortnight's  provisions,  to  accompany  them.  I  sent 
my  four  largest  dogs,  with  panniers,  to  assist  in  carry- 
ing the  weight,  and  at  midnight  Mr.  lioppner  started 
for  Kayaktarioo,  whence  the  natives  were  to  proceed 
in  the  morning. 

On  Sunday  the  13th,  a  party  of  two  officers  and  four 
men  were  sent,  provisi.oned  for  a  fortnight,  to  the  fish- 


A   SUMMER  EX017B8ICN. 


311 


3r  buttons,  and 
n  it.  As  these 
ence,  I  am  un- 
tiat  I  heard  on 
n  so  anxioiisl} 
hem  quite  puz- 
ilional  informa- 
ed  his  services 
ain  Parry  pur- 
ible  opportunity 

it  a  fishing-place 
it  with  Mr.  Bird 
rh  land  of  Cape 
is  appearance  to 
nted  there,  and 
>eing  any  other 
5  wetted  to  the 
ig  excursion,  but 
le   land,  and  the 
snow  ;  and  wheiv 
travelled  for  ma- 
nt  water,  which 
)m  six  inches  to  a 
ch  this  body  of 
ough  the  nume- 
:h  an  eddy  round 

te  leave,  all  as- 
(lediately  to  the 
)re  thought  this  a 
ire  of  Mr.  Hopp- 
with  three  men 
any  them.  1  sent 
to  assist  in  carry- 
Hoppner  started 
were  to  proceed 

)  officers  and  four 
tnight,  to  the  fish- 


ing-place, ?bout  forty  miles  to  the  westward,  in  Quil- 
liam  Creek.     Having  nothing  particular  to  detain  me 
on  board,  and  wishing  to  enjoy  what  I  could  of  the  half 
expired  summer,  1  determined  on  slowly  following  with 
my  smaller  team,  and  tenting  for  a  few  days  in  the 
mountains  beyond  the  creek,  to  search  for  deer,  and  to 
make  what  observations  I  could   on  the  state  of  the 
country.     One   man  and  myself  occupied  forty-eight 
hours  on  our  journey  out,  but  the  Fury^s  sledge  made 
it  in  one  long  day.     1  mention  this  trivial  circurastbnce, 
to  show  the  narrow  escape  which  one  or  both  parties 
must  have  had ;  for  between  the  passing  of  the  first  and 
the  arrival  of  our  sledge,  the  narrow  part  of  the  creek 
above  the  Coxe  isles,  which  was  of  perfectly  smooth 
ice,  had  by  some  wonderful  convulsion  been  blown  up 
ic  a  most  extraordinary  manner,  and  the  ice  thrown  in 
every  direction.     Our  attention  was  first  arrested  by 
seeing  a  high  ragged-looking  wall  before  us,  and  on 
arriving  at  it,  we  found  large  masses  of  ice  eight  or 
nine  feet  in  thickness,  and  many  yards  in  diameter,  ly- 
ing on  the  solid  and  level  fioe  ;  we  were  for  some  time 
at  a  loss  to  find  the  place  whence  they  had  been  eject- 
ed, and  at  length  discovered  a  hole  or  pool  which  ap- 
peared so  small  as  to  be  hardly  capable  of  containing 
the  immense  fragments  near  it ;  yet  from  this  alone 
the  ice  must  have  been  thrown.    The  water,  which  I 
found  to   be  fresh,  was  running  rapidly  to   seaward 
[beneath  this  opening,  and  1  imagine  that  the  vast  accu- 
mulation from  the  streams  at  the  head  of  Quilliam 
Creek,  though  about  ten  miles  distant,  must  have  here 
burst  themselves  a  passage,  and  caused  the  forcible 
ejection  of  the  ice.     Several  of  the  blocks,  and  one  in 
particular,  of  above  eight  feet  thick,  and  about  forty 
yards  in  circumference,  were  lying  above  500  yards 
from  the  pool,  and  no  traces  could  be  found  of  the  man- 
ner in  which  they  had  been  transported  to  that  situa- 
tion, as  not  a  single  small  fragment  was  lying  about,  to 
warrant  the  supposition  that  they  had  fallen  with  a 
Ishock ;  neither  were  any  traces  seen  on  the  smooth 
uncracked  floe,  to  raise  an  idea  that  the  blocks  had  slid 


■  ;m 


'   '-'It 

<  u. 


:i  '•  ( 


m 


312 


A  BITEB. 


'•  •  A  ■ 


vH) 


y  n- 


[  : 


kV 


over  it.  The  general  appearance  of  the  solid  ice  was 
like  the  whole  of  that  which  filled  the  inlet,  and  it  did 
not  seem  as  if  even  a  momentary  rush  of  water  had 
passed  above  it. 

Having  remained  a  day  at  the  fishing-place,  and  sup- 
plied the  party  with  a  small  skin  boat  which  I  carried 
out  as  an  experiment,  I  removed,  in  the  evening,  to 
the  foot  of  the  mountains  at  the  head  of  the  creek,  in 
order  to  enjoy  an  uninterrupted  sporting  ground,  and 
also  to  examine  a  large  and  rapid  river  which  emptied 
itself  under  the  ice  on  the  south  side  of  a  large  basin 
or  bay  which  was  formed  here. 

1  remained  amongst  the  mountains  eight  days,  and 
my  man  and  I  were  out  hunting  from  eight  to  ten  hours 
daily,  yet  we  procured  but  a  few  ducks,  and  eggs  suf- 
ficient for  our  evening^s  meaL    It  was  not  however  to 
be  wondered  at,  that  our  sport  was  bad,  since  five  days 
out  of  the  six  it  rained  unceasingly,  and  in  a  truly  arc- 
tic style.    While,  here,  1  examined  the  river,  over  the 
mouth  of  which  it  appeared  that  I  must  have  passed  in 
my  June  expedition.    It  now  ran  with  great  rapidity,  j 
and  made  such  havoc  amongst  the  sea  ice,  that  in  a  few 
days  there  was  not  a  piece  left  within  two  or  three 
miles  of  its  mouth,  which  was   about  300  yards  Iqi 
breadth,  and  of  very  considerable  depth.     Proceeding 
upwards  for  a  mile,  the  width  is  about  150  yards,  and 
here  are  three  rapids, ,  almost  amounting  to  falls,  nt 
about  500  yards  apart,  their  United  descent  being,  as 
near  as  I  could  judge,  thirty  feet.     The  stream  above 
'these   varies  occasionally  in  width,  from  a  hundred 
yards  to  nearly  half  a  mile;  and  at  three  miles  from  I 
the  mouth,  a  large  estuary  receives  a  second  river  of| 
an  almost  equal  size,  which  comes  from  the  N.W.J 
while  the  larger  stream  then  takes  a  turn  to  the  S.  £.[ 
Jit  the  foot  of  the  mountains  the  plains  are  well  fur-| 
nished  with  grass,  on  which  we  occasionally  saw  a  fewl 
distant  deer.    A  brown  crane,  of  the  same  kind  as  thatl 
ihot  by  Dunn,  appeared  a  constant  inhabitant  of  tbe| 
jriver's  banks,  but  we  could  never  approach  it. 
'^    We  found  in  almost  every  direction  where  we  wan-j 


t 


SALMON   CAUGHT. 


313 


(iered,  remains  of  Eskimaux  summer  circles,  store- 
houses, and  fire-places,  from  which  it  would  appear, 
that  a  hunting  season  is  occasionally  passed  here,  and  I 
have  no  doubt  that  at  a  more  advanced  period,  deer 
are  exceedingly  plentiful. 

On  the  14th,  I  walked  to  return  the  visit  of  our  fish- 
ing gentlemen,  who  had  called  and  left  a  mournful  slab 
of  limestone  in  my  tent,  on  which,  beneath  their  names, 
was  inscribed,  "  Bad  sport — no  fish — no  deer :"  but  on 
my  arrival  I  found  them  in  high  spirits,  the  preceding 
day's  labour  having  procured  them  about  100  salmon. 
In  this  walk  I  found  the  river  had  made  such  progress 
in  thawing  the  ice,  that  it  was  necessary  1  should  re- 
move as  speedily  as  possible  to  the  fishing  place,  lest 
my  retreat  should  be  cut  off  entirely.  On  the  follow- 
ing morning,  therefore,  Mr.  Crozier,  with  his  whole 
parly,  came  to  assist  in  removing  our  baggage,  and  we 
reached  his  tent  in  safety,  though  we  passed  for  two 
or  three  miles  over  ice  which  actually  trembled  be- 
neath our  tread.  Our  change  of  abode  was  well-timed, 
for  in  a  few  hours  the  place  over  which  we  walked, 
and  even  a  mile  below  the  present  station,  was  entire- 
ly thawed,  and  a  deep  sea  of  fresh  water  occupied  the 
place  of  the  ice.  Fine  weather  now  set  in,  and  proved 
highly  favourable  to  our  fishermen,  who  in  three  days 
caught  above  three  hundred  fish,  which  consoled  us  all 
for  our  former  bad  success  and  repeated  wet  jackets. 
The  salmon,  which  I  believe  are  the  Salmo  Alpinus  of 
Linnaeus,  were  well  formed  firm  fish,  and  full  of  spawn  ; 
their  average  size  about  that  of  a  horse  mackerel, 
though  many  were  much  bigger.  The  largest  mea- 
sured 28  inches,  and  when  cleaned,  weighed  8^1bs. 
The  fishing-place  is  at  the  foot  of  an  inconsiderable 
little  ravine,  across  which  it  was  easy  to  wade  when  at 
its  fullest.  Where  it  mixes  with  the  sea,  the  Eskimaux 
have  erected  a  low  wall  of  stones,  about  a  foot  high, 
behind  wiiich  they  stand  to  spear  the  fish,  but  they  are 
obliged  to  exercise  all  their  patience  in  this  occupa- 
tion, as  1  never  once  saw  a  salmon  come  within  many 
yards  of  the  dike.  Our  people  made  use  of  a  trawl  io 
27 


a 


( .  ^ 


.:■!■ 


'^i 


i 


.111 


!:i:; 


;   > 


'  iir 


m 


314 


KIICE. 


I 


n 


taking  the  fish,  and  the  little  hoat  was  employed  iti 
laying  it  out,  and  then  alarming  and  driving  the  salmon 
into  it. 

We  now  became  very  anxious  for  the  return  of  the 
sledges,  which  had  been  sent  back  after  bringing  us 
out;  as  the  river  was  extended  to  a  couple  of  miles 
beyond  us  on  the  way  to  the  ships.  In  the  meantime 
I  walked  out  during  a  whole  day,  in  search  of  snow 
geese,  which  had  been  seen  inland.  After  about  five 
miles  ramble,  I  succeeded  in  seeing  seventeen  of  these 
birds  walking  in  a  line,  but  I  could  not  get  near  them, 
owing  to  a  large  lake  between  us.  The  banks  of  this 
water  were  quite  sprinkled  with  the  feathers  of  the 
brent  geese,  which  had  began  to  moult,  and  I  observed, 
with  astonishment,  long  ridges  of  mouse  dung  several 
inches  deep,  extending  for  above  two  miles.  By  what 
means  this  could  have  arrived  here,  I  was  at  a  loss  to 
cohceite,  as  I  did  not  see  any  mouse  holes,  or  other 
traces  of  these  animals;  besides  whiph  they  live  in 
stony  dry  places,  and  this  was  a  swamp.  It  is  possible, 
however,  that  this  accumulation  of  the  excrements  of 
mice  may  be  from  the  mus  Hudsonius ;  occasionally 
migrating  in  the  same  wonderful  manner  as  the  lemmer 
of' Lapland.  I  learnt  from  Mr.  Crozier,  who  had  found 
a  isfiow  goose  nest,  that  these  birds  lay  five  eggs.  The 
'brent  goose  lays  four,  and  the  latter  bird  lines  its  ne$t 
H^itfa  down,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  eyder  and  king 
duck,  but  the  down  is  of  a  far  lighter  colour,  being  of 
a  slaty  hue. 

At  night  on  the  Itth,  the  Fury's  sledge  arrived  with- 
in a  mile  of  us,  with  a  tea;n  of  thirteen  dogs  belonging 
to  both  ships,  and  such  as  were  the  least  footnsore 
The  following  morning  was  occupied  in  carrying  our 
things  to  the  sledge,  and  in  the  afternoon  we  started. 
One  dog  had  escaped  to  the  ships,  and  another  was  left 
lOuse  on  account  of  its  bad  feet,  so  that  we  had  but 
eleven  cripled  animals  to  drag  a  load,  which  on  being 
weighed  at  the  ships,  was  found  to  be  2060  lbs.  The 
poor  beasts,  by  the  time  they  arrived,  had  completed 
three  days  without  food.  We  travelled  eight  hours 
the  first  dav.  and  slent  on  one  of  the  Coxe  Groune. 


if: 


MR.  HOPPfTEB's  EXCVRSIOy. 


315 


The  following  morniqg  we  again  set  out,  and  in 
twelve  hours  more  the  sledge  arrived.  This  trip  had 
occupied  fourteen  days,  and  I  now  determined  on  re- 
maining a  little  at  the  ship,  as  1  had  slept  on  board 
four  nights  only  in  six  weeks.  My  excursions  had  been 
chiefly  made  for  the  purpose  of  enjoying  the  summer, 
but  in  the  whole  of  the  above  time  I  had  seen  but  eight 
days  of  sunshine  :  the  rest  of  the  season  had  been  plea- 
sai^tly  varied  by  alternate  showers  of  snow  or  rain,  and 
occasional  gales  of  two  or  three  days'  continuance.  I 
had  hoped  to  be  refreshed  by  an  occasional  leaf  of  sor- 
rel, but  none  was  to  be  found ;  and  the  only  real  luxu- 
ry I  had  enjoyed  was  a  mess  of  fresh  fish,  and  a  glass, 
or  more  properly,  a  tin-pot,  full  of  egg-flip,  which  was 
a  greater  treat  th^n  even  the  salmon. 

i  found  that  Mr.  Hoppner  had  returned  a  day  or  two 
before  me^  paving  quitted  the  party  he  hoped  to  have 
accompanied  to  the  northward.  As  might  have  been 
expected  of  these  uncertain  savages,  they  only  proceed- 
ed to  Cpckburn  Island,  and  there,  having  procured 
plenty  of  a^^ls  and  other  food,  seemed  in  no  hurry  to 
depart.  Mr.  Hoppner,  finding  that  no  decision  could 
he  obt^ned  as  to  their  movements,  left  them  after  hay- 
ii^  wsuted  a  few  days :  they  were  very  kind  to  him, 
and  as  hospitable  as  I  had  found  them  in  a  former  in- 
stance, when  the  ships  were  not  near.  On  that  occa- 
sion they  constantly  fed  my  dogs,  and  seldom,  if  ever, 
begged  any  thing. 

Mr.  Hoppner  particularly  dwelt  on  the  general  hap- 
piness and  gaiety  which  prevailed  at  this  season. 
Seats'  flesh,  ducks,  and  eggs,  were  abundant;  and  the 
days  and  sunny  nights  were  occupied  in  feasting,  sing- 
ing, romping,  and  dancing.  1  was  surprised  to  hear 
that  the  women)  particularly  the  young  ones,  amused 
themselves  by  going  out  and  watching  seal  holes,  and 
that  tbey  frequently  killed  these  animals.  Mrs.  Kettle, 
as  it  appeared,  was  quite  a  veteran  in  this  way ;  array- 
ing herself  in  man's  boots,  she  constantly  went  out  with 
the  men  on  their  hunting  parties,  with  her  line  and 
khi^tko  over  her  shoulder,  and  a  strong  spear  in  ber 


^^ 


,>tl 


:1 


i   i',' 


316 


MK.   HOPPNER's   EXCUIISIOIT. 


fv.i 


■■■■  «■ 

t     i. 


hand.  Such  a  heroine  deserved,  and  did  meet  wilii 
great  success ;  she  killed  several  seals,  chiefly  for  their 
skin,  food  being  now  so  abundant  that  the  hunters  fre- 
quently left  the  carcasses,  unless  near  the  shore. 

The  walruses  having  now  began  to  appear  in  the 
open  water,  near  Igloolik,  it  was  requisite  to  procure 
some  as  provision  for  our  dogs ;  two  boats,  with 
crews  and  officers,  were  therefore  carried  on  sledges 
over  the  ice,  to  a  point  about  five  miles  from  the 
ships,  whence  they  could  be  launrhed  at  plea- 
sure. Tents  also,  provisions,  &c.  were  taken  for  u 
fortnight. 

On  the  21st  Mr.  Hoppner,  with  George  Dunn,  left 
us  with  my  small  sledge,  and  a  team  of  the  best  dogs 
of  each  ship,  for  the  purpose  of  connecting  the  north- 
ern shore,  and  ascertaining  what  openings  might  exist 
in  the  route  to  be  pursued  by  the  Fury ;  a  measure  by 
which  much  labour  might  to  be  saved.  The  weather 
was  extremely  unfavourable  for  some  days,  and  a  heavy 
fog  with  drizzling  rain  quite  hid  the  country. 

A  couple  of  Walruses,  and  an  ooghiook  also,  were 
killed  in  the  course  of  the  week.  Mr.  Richards,  who 
was  charged  with  our  fishing  party,  found  the  bodies  of 
a  man  and  woman,  who,  as  I  before  mentioned,  had 
been  partly  devoured  by  dogs  in  the  winter,  again  ex- 
posed by  some  animals  having  dug  them  up.  He  bu- 
ried them,  End  some  young  children  likewise,  on  which 
the  "  larus  parasiticus,"  or  boatswain  gulls,  were  feed- 
ing as  they  lay  in  the  swampy  ground. 

On  the  30th  we  bent  sails  and  cables,  and  were  m 
all  respects  prepared  for  sea.  Mr.  Hoppner  returned 
in  the  evening,  and  notwithstanding  the  unfavourable 
state  of  the  weather,  had  performed  what  was  re- 
quisite, and  connected  the  land  as  laid  down  in  the 
general  chart.  •     -      *> 

One  opening   which   we    had   seen,  and  had  been  | 
unable  to  examine  at  the  close  of  the  last  year,  was 
found  by  him  to  be  a  most  magnificent  river,  from  three 
miles  to  one  and  a  IThlf  in  breadth.     Up  this,  on  the 
unbroken  but  much-decayed  ice,  he  proceeded  for  s«- 


lid  meet  with 
hiefly  for  theii 
le  hunters  fre- 
le  shore, 
appear  in  the 
site  to  procure 
<o  boats,  with 
ried  on  sledges 
iles  from  the 
rhed  at  plea- 
re    taken  for  a 

arge  Dunn,  left 
)f  the  best  dogs 
cting  the  north- 
ngs  might  exist 

;  a  measure  by 
The  weather 
ays,  and  a  heavy 
ountry. 

hiook  also,  were 
.  Richards,  who 
jnd  the  bodies  of 

mentioned,  had 
/inter,  again  ex- 
3m  up.  He  bu- 
lewise,  on  which 
^uUs,  were  feed- 

es,  and  were  in 
oppner  returned 
le  unfavourable 
what  was  re- 
aid  down  in  the 


n 


J,  and  had  been 
e  last  year,  was 
river^  from  three 
Up  this,  on  the 
roceeded  for  s€- 


THE   GIFTORD  BIYER. 


317 


Teral  miieS)  and  afterwards,  on  coming  to  the  open 
water,  walked  still  farther  along  its  banks.  The  place 
at  which  he  turned  back  was  about  fifteen  miles  from 
the  entrance,  and  he  could  see  the  river  still  continuing 
its  breadth  for  about  fifteen  miles  higher  up.  He  here 
found  the  Eskimauz  slowly  making  their  way  towards 
Too-noo-ne-roo-shuk :  they  were  in  tents  at  the  edge 
of  the  fresh  water  ice  awaiting  its  breaking  up,  when 
the  men  were  to  proceed  up  the  river  in  their  canoes, 
while  the  women  and  dogs  carried  burthens  by  laud  : 
they  had  abundance  of  very  fine  salmon,  which  were 
taken  in  a  little  trickling  stream,  like  that  in  Quilliam 
Creek.  All  the  natives  spoke  of  a  large  water-fall, 
about  a  day's  walk  beyond  where  Mr.  Hoppaer  reach- 
ed. The  banks  of  the  river  were  more  rich  in  her- 
bage than  any  place  Mr.  Hoppner  had  seen  in  these 
regions,  yet  only  two  deer  were  there.  The  Eski- 
maux  accounted  for  this  by  saying  that  a  couple  of 
she  wolves,  with  their  young,  were  prowling  about 
near  the  river  side,  and  had  scared  the  deer  away. 

As  the  astronomer's  tent  was  to  be  struck  on  the  Ist 
of  August,  we  on  this  evening  all  received  a  most  polite 
invitation  from  Mr.  Crauford,  the  worthy  old  Greenland 
mate  of  the  Fury,  to  tea  and  cards,  but,  in  fact,  to  a 
merry  smoking  party,  in  which  we  might  all  meet 
once  more  while  the  ice  was  firm  enough  to  admit  of 
our  walking  on  shore.  The  officers  of  both  ships  found 
abundant  room  in  the  tent,  and  we  passed  a  most 
agreeable  evening,  in  which  laughter  and  good-fellow- 
ibip  were  sufficient  excuses  for  the  antiquity  of  our 
songs  and  jokes,  which  in  two  long  winters  were  pret- 
ty well  worn  out  by  repetition. 

On  the  1st  of  August,  the  Rev.  G.  Fisher,  in 
order  to  avoid  confusion  in  shifting  his  instruments 
at  a  future  ?ay,  now  removed  to  the  Hccla  for  his 
passage  to  England,  and  at  my  request  became  my 
messmate. 

The  harbour  ice  bad  now  thawed  into  deep  pools, 
through  which  we   were    often    obliged    to   wade  in 
I  passing  between  the  shipi.     The  general  thaw,  how- 
27  * 


I   1 
i  :■!■• 


l\ 


1   I  ■ 


-'    ;     •'  ^ 


3  t 

■5 


: 


■'Hi! 


;i8 


AVALRUSES    SINK  A  BOAT. 


m 


ever,  had  ceased ;  for  during  the  night-time,  as  well 
as  a  week  before,  a  strong  coat  of  ice  had  formed  over 
those  pools,  and  not  unfrequently  had  remained  un- 
thawed  all  day. 

On  this  afternoon  I  went  to  examine  the  state  of 
the  ice  near  the  eastern  point  of  Iglooiik  ;  and  in  order 
more  fully  to  ascertain  its  condition,  rede  out  on  n;y 
sledge,  which  was  carrying  tools,  &c.  to  a  spot  where 
it  was  determined  to  commence  sawing,  and  which  was 
five  long  miles  from  our  ships.  At  a  particular  point, 
a  mile  from  the  Fury,  a  crack  had  been  observed  for 
some  time,  extending  quite  across  the  inlet;  but  its 
breadth  was  as  yet  inconsiderable,  being  from  one  to 
ten  feet  only,  according  to  the  state  of  the  tide :  be- 
tween this  and  the  sea,  there  were  still  about  four  miles 
of  unbroken  lield  ice.  Endeavouring  to  pass  near  the 
shore,  at  the  end  of  the  crack,  we  got  on  some  detach- 
ed pieces  of  ice,  and  from  one  of  them  the  loaded 
sledge  was  canted  off  into  ten  feet  water.  As  I  had 
with  me  two  men  and  twelve  dogs,  we,  after  some 
trouble,  succeeded  in' weighing  the  vehicle,  and  pro- 
ceeding on  our  journey,  it  was  a  pleasing  considera- 
tion to  find  it  at  last  possible  to  tumble  through  the 
ice,  as  when  once  a  small  break  is  perceived  it  soon 
extends  itselfl  >   '  ^j^?'^    f?^    ,7^?^^  ■'xtrrn-^ 

I  found  Mr.  Sherer,  who  commanded  our  hunting 
boats,  just  returning  with  one,  and  towing  the  other, 
which  had  been  swamped  in  consequence  of  having 
been  badly  stove  by  a  wounded  walrus.  A  herd  had 
been  attacked,  and  of  these  he  killed  five ;  three  oi" 
them  were  lost,  having  sunk  when  they  died,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  harpoons  breaking;  the  other  two  were 
brought  on  shore.  Mr.  Sherer  described  tne  fury  ol 
the  wounded  animals  as  being  quite  outrageous,  but 
those  which  were  unhurt  quickly  forsook  their  suf- 
fering companions.  The  beast  which  sank  the  tirst 
boat  struck  his  tnsks  repeatedly  through  her  bottom, 
and  she  filled  immediately.  Had  she  been  alone,  not 
a  soul  of  her  crew  could  have  been  saved,  for  there 
was  no  ice  within  thre    miles,  and  to  swini  would  have 


ICE  BBFVKS  UP. 


319 


been  impossible  in  such  cold  water.  Mr.  Sherer's 
boat  was  also  badly  stove,  and  was  scarcely  kept  free 
by  constant  baling. 

On  the  3d,  to  our  great  joy,  we  observed  that  the 
crack,  of  which  I  have  spoken,  had  opened  so  much 
ns  to  be  seen  from  the  ships ;  while  the  outer  floe  had 
moved  a  little  to  seaward ;  this  rendered  sawing  at 
the  sea  edge  unnecessary,  and  it  was  therefore  settled 
that  our  operations  should  commence  from  the  crack 
to  the  ships. 

On  the  4th,  the  crews  of  both  ships  commenced  saw- 
ing, and  were  thus  employed  until  the  7th,  when  we 
perceived  that  the  ice  in  shore  of  the  Fury  had  separat- 
ed from  the  land.  The  people  were  in  consequence 
instantly  recalled,  and  every  preparation  was  made  for 
leaving  our  winter  quarters.  Mr.  Sherer  came  on 
1)oard  with  his  party,  having  left  his  boats,  gear,  tents, 
kc.  anu  eight  walruses  at  Igloolik,  to  be  brought  off 
by  the  earliest  opportunity. 

The  weather  had  now  been  tine  for  five  successive 
days,  which  was  the  longest  period  of  ^ood  warm  and 
clear  weather  we  had  ever  seen  smce  leaving  England, 
yet  still  the  young  ice  always  formed  at  night. 

On  the  morning  of  the  8th  I  received  a  letter  on  ser- 
vice from  Captain  Parry,  enclosing  two  others  from  the 
medical  officers  of  his  ship,  desiring  me  to  give  my 
opinion  as  to  the  future  operations  of  the  Fury,  and 
asking  if  I  still  thought  it  would  be  for  the  benefit  of 
the  service  that  she  should  remain  out.  The  surgeon^s 
opinion  respecting  the  general  state  of  the  Fury's  crew 
so  exactly  coincided  with  what  1  had  also  observed  in 
the  Hecia,  that  I  had  no  hesitation  in  answering  Cap- 
tain Parry  ;  and  I  here  insert  my  letter,  as  it  may  bet- 
ter explain  my  ideas  on  th?s  important  subject. 

"  The  health  of  your  crew  being  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance in  every  poim  of  view,  I  shall,  in  the  first 
place,  state,  that  independently  of  the  weighty  opinions 
of  your  medical  officers,  I  have  for  some  time  been  ap- 
prehensive, that  the  Fury's  passing  another  winter  in 


■A 

i 


■'fi'j 


M 

4  \ 


-t  •  is! 

AM 


'I 


V 


I' 

k 


S£0 


BBASONS  FOB  BOTH 


E^«i 


U  i 


a: 


this  country  would  be  «itreinely  hazardous.  I  am  in- 
duced thus  to  express  myself  from  the  great  change  I 
have  obserred  in  the  constitution  of  the  officers  and 
men  of  his  majesty  ^s  ship  Hecla,  and  by  the  appearance 
of  some  very  severe  cases  of  scurvy  since  the  summer 
has  commenced.  I  am  also  aware  that  the  same  scor- 
butic symptoms  have  been  noticed,  and  do  still  exist  in 
the  Fury. 

'^  Our  long  continuance  on  one  particular  diet,  our 
almost  total  deprivation  of  fresh  animal  or  vegetable 
food  for  above  two  years,  and  the  necessary  and  close 
confinement  we  have  been  subjected  to  during  several 
months  of  each  severe  winter,  have  undoubtedly  occa- 
sioned the  general  change  of  constitution  which  has  for 
sometime  been  so  evident.  I  therefore  conceive  that  a 
continued  exposure  to  the  same  deprivations  and  confine- 
ments, the  solitude  of  a  single  ship,  and  the  painful 
monotony  of  another  winter  to  men  whose  health  is  al- 
ready precarious,  would,  in  all  probability,  be  attended 
with  very  serious  consequences. 

"  When,  at  the  commencement  of  the  last  winter,  1 
gave  it  as  my  opinion  that  the  service  would  be  benefited 
by  your  remaining  out  in  the  Fury  as  you  proposed, 
and  still  attempting  a  farther  passage  to  the  westward, 
I  did  not  anticipate  so  long  a  confinement  in  the  ice  as 
we  liave  unfortunately  experienced,  and  1  formed  my 
opinion  on  the  supposition,  and  in  full  expectation,  that 
we  should  be  at  liberty  about  the  1st  of  July  of  this 
year,  and  that  the  general  good  health  which  then  pre- 
vailed would  still  continue.  From  our  being  detained 
until  the  present  time,  I  now  consider  that  the  season 
in  which  it  is  possible  to  navigate  has  so  far  passed, 
that  nothing  material  can  be  effected  by  either  one  or 
both  ships.  We  Vnow,  from  the  experience  of  last 
year,  that  it  is  not  before  the  end  of  August  or  the  com- 
mencement of  September  that  the  ice  breaks  up  in  the 
large  strait  to  the  northward  of  Igloolik,  and  that  until 
that  period  you  would  not  be  enabled  to  re-examine 
the  Strait  of  the  Fury  and  Hecla.  Euen  were  you  to 
do  so,  and  were  you,  as  there  is  every  re<ison  to  ex- 


SHIPS  RETURXINO  HOME. 


321 


pect,  to  find  it  still  cl<'  ed,  you  would  have  barely  suffi- 
cient time  to  return  to  Igloolik,  in  order  to  pnss  your 
third  winter.  Agnin — should  the  sea  prove  open  to 
the  north-ei?stward,  and  should  you  deem  it  expedient 
to  attempt,  by  rounding  the  extensive  land  in  that  di- 
rection, to  find  some  other  passage  to  the  westward, 
you  would  in  that  case  depart  from  the  Admiralty  in- 
structions by  leaving  the  coast  of  America  ;  and  i  also 
conceive,  that  the  extreme  lateness  of  the  season  would 
not  admitof  your  making  discoveries  of  any  importance, 
or,  at  all  events,  of  such  importance  as  to  warrant  your 
passing  a  third  winter  at  the  risk  of  endangering  the 
safety  of  your  officers  and  crew. 

"  Having  stated  my  reasons  for  changing  my  former 
opiiiion,  I  now  beg  to  advise  that  the  Fury  and  Hecia 
I'etnrn  to  England  together,  as  soon  as  such  arrange- 
ments respecting  removal  of  stores  and  provisions  as 
you  may  judge  proper  to  make  shall  'je  completed." 


fi 


ft 


Almost  immediately  after  I  had  received  Captain 
Parry's  letter,  and  while  in  the  act  of  writing  my  an- 
swer, the  harbour  floe  separated  in  several  places  un- 
der the  influence  of  a  fresh  north-west  breeze.  Both 
ships  made  all  sail  at  eleven  a.  m.  and  the  Fury  being 
in  an  opening,  got  to  sea  by  one  p.  m.  in  the  Hecia  we 
were  not  so  fortunate ;  being  unable  to  make  any  im- 
pression on  our  winter  floe,  we  were  in  consequence 
carried  out  by  it  at  a  very  slow  rate.  We  lay  with  all 
sail  set  in  a  little  open  pool  which  had  thawed  round 
us,  and  were  perhaps  the  first  ship  that  ever  was  so 
carried  out  of  b'^rbour.  The  novelty  of  the  convey- 
ance, however,  excited  no  very  pleasant  feelings ;  for 
ue  remained  all  night  in  great  suspense  as  to  where  we 
might  next  be  carried,  a  shoal  point  lying  across  the 
entrance  of  the  inlet.  At  eight  a.m.  on  the  9th,  having 
made  a  little  offing,  the  short  sea  broke  our  fetters, 
and  with  all  sail  before  the  wind  we  ran  clear  of 
the  ice. 

We  had  now  passed  three  hundred  and  nineteen  days 
in  our  winter  quarters,  of  which  three  hundred  and  ten 


r  ■ 


(r 


I"  I 


Iff 


322 


FRBFA&4TIONS  VOB  BETVBNING. 


were  in  the  flee  from  which  we  had  just  cleared  our- 
selves. I  shall  not  attempt  a  description  of  our  sensa- 
(ions  on  this  day ;  there  are  some  people  who  can  easi- 
ly imagiBe  them,  and  those  who  cannot,  will  never 
have  waded  thus  far  through  my  journaJ.  We  had 
now  been  part  of  every  month  in  the  year  in  confine- 
ment, having  entered  on  the  24th  of  September,  and 
being  freed  on  the  9th  of  August. 


nU 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Expedition  returning — A  land-mark  erected — Account  of  Igloulik— • 
Drift  of  tlie  ahip— Danger  of  (he  ships  wlule  driviog-x-Lyou  Inlet 
—Death  of  Mr.  George  Fife — His  case-— The  ships  drive  out  of 
i^on  Inlet — Open  water  seen,  and  an  offing  made— -Passage  down 
Hudson's  Strait  and  across  the  Atlantic— -Arrival  and  hospitable 
reception  at  Lerwicli. 

Ow  joining  the  Fury,  1  went  on  board  to  Ceptaio 
Parry,  and  from  him  reotif  «d  a  latter  to  read  to  my 
officers  and  ship's  company,  informisg  them  of  the 
chai^^e  which  was  about  to  take  place.  We  now  beat 
«p  the  Inlet  to  our  old  wintering  quarter,  which,  as  if 
by  magic,  had  been  entirely  cleared  of  ice  in  one 
night ;  and  it  was  also  open  as  far  as  we  could  see  up 
Quilllam  Creek  from  the  highest  ground. 

Preparations  were  now  made  for  our  receiving  seve- 
ral of  the  stores  and  provisions  which  we  had  supplied 
to  the  Fury  in  the  spring.  Captain  Parry  purposed  re- 
maining here  a  week,  in  order  to  paint  and  equip  bis 
ship  for  her  passage  home. 

The  whole  day  of  the  10th  was  occupied  in  trans- 
porting stores,  and  before  night  every  thing  was  finish- 
ed and  stowed. 

Soon  after  midniffht  of  the  10th,  we  observed  the 
strait  to  be  rapidly  filling  wi  :h  ice  ;  and  at  one  a.  m.  a 
▼ery  heavy  floe  came  down  at  the  rate  of  two  knots, 
and  settled  across  our  boFs:  before  we  could  weig* 


[NO. 

t  cleared  our- 
of  our  sensa- 
i  who  can  easi- 
ot,  will  never 
nal.  We  had 
ear  In  confine* 
eptember,  and 


A  LAND  MARK  KRECTED. 


3SS 


ccountoflgloolik- 
iriviog— Lyou  Inlet 
L«  ship*  drive  out  of 
ade— Passage  down 
rival  and  boapitable 

»ard  to  Captain 
t  to  read  to  my 
kg  them  of  the 
.  W«  now  beat 
er,  which,  as  if 
of  ice  in  one 
we  could  see  up 

nd. 

ir  receiving  seve- 
we  had  supplied 
irry  purposed  re- 
lint  and  equip  his 

Kscupied  in  trans- 
thing  was  finish- 

Iwe  ohsenred  the 

nd  at  one  a.  m.  a 

xe  of  two  knots, 

we  could  weigh 


the  anchor,  the  whole  floe  pressed  on  the  cable,  and 
drove  us  with  it.  After  two  or  three  hours^  labour, 
we  purchased  the  anchor.  Both  ships  continued  under 
sail  J  and  early  in  the  morning  I  visited  Captain  Parry, 
who  in  consequence  of  the  danger  attendant  on  anchor- 
ing in  the  only  place  which  bad  appeared  likely  to 
shelter  us,  now  resolved  to  give  up  all  idea  of  painting, 
and  to  proceed  bonne  immediately. 

In  the  forenoon  a  party  of  three  boats  were  sent  to 
the  main  land  with  the  Fury^s  hand-mast,  which,  with 
a  large  ball  at  its  head,  and  good  strong  rigging,  was 
set  up  on  a  p(rint,  in  obedience  to  the  Admiralty  in- 
structions, as  a  mark  for  Captain  Franklin,  should  he 
pass  this  way.    Letters  were   buried   at   the   foot  of 
the  mast.    1  went  with  other  boats  despatched  to  Ig- 
iooiik,  to  bring  off  a  party  who   had   been  sent  on 
the  preceding  day  to  catch  some  salmon,  and  also  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  four  of  the  numerous  walruses 
whTch  had  been  killed,  as  food   for  our  dogs.    Each 
ship  landed  their   sledges,  broken  spars,  and   in  iact 
whatever  could  be  spared  that  might  be  useful  to  the 
natives  who  might  come  next  year ;  and  in  order  that 
the  first  arrivals  should  not  secure  all  these  valuables, 
they  were  scattered  about  the  island.    The  flood  tide 
again  brought  with  it  floes  of  several  miles  in  eitent, 
\.nich  filled  the  inlet;  so  that  what  with  grounding, 
being  beset,  and  various  other  impediments,  we  had 
been  fourteen  hours  away  before  we  reached  the  ships 
at  nea.'>  midnight :  even  when  we  did  get  clear  with 
five  of  our  boats,,  we  were  obliged  to  leave  behind  ut 
a  whale-boat  belonging  to  the  Fury,  as  she  was  hauled 
I  up  on  a  beach  a  mile  or  two  beyond  where  we  could 
reach  with  the  other  boats  and  crews  to  launch  her. 
I  We  were  fortunate  enough,  after  passing  a  very  un- 
I  pleasant  night,  to  get  to  sea  in  the  forenoon  of  the 
12th,  in  a  very  dense  fog,  a  south-east  wind  blowing : 
[the  sea  was  full  of  loose  and  heavy  ice,  amongst  which 
we  beat  all  day.     In  the  evening,  ailer  some  very  heavy 
rain,  we  saw  ourselves  near  Sunday  Island.      ,        <   - 1 


I 


k.i 


I* 


■!■  J 


!i  1   < 


Si 


yfU    f^wW  Ml    ■  !^,U     rt*JJ.  1  l^-»»      ;-.u.,'' 


|v  < 


324 


lOLOOLIK. 


Ill 


TGLOOLIK. 

We  now  considered  ourselves  as  having  taken  a  final 
leave  of  Igloolik,  near  which  we  had  made  so  tedious 
and  dreary  a  stay.  It  is  an  island  of  about  ten  miles  in 
length  by  six  in  breadth,  and  is  of  a  very  singular  form, 
being  almost  equally  divided  by  a  deep  bay,  at  whose 
mouth  we  wintered,  which  goes  nearly  through  it,  the 
two  halves  of  the  land  being  merely  jointui  by  a  small 
ledge  a  few  yards  in  width.  The  bay  is  too  shoal  for 
onr  ships.  The  island  is  low  and  tolerably  even,  the 
highest  hind  being  at  its  western  extremity,  and"  table- 
topped."  Its  elevation  above  the  sea  is  174  feet;  and 
it  is  composed  of  loose  shingle  limestone,  with  much 
magnesia  in  its  composition.  With  the  exception  of 
the  above  rising  ground,  the  whole  island  may  be  con- 
sidered as  one  immense  swamp,  full  of  lakes,  and  cover- 
ed with  stunted  herbage.  A  few  ridges  of  gravel  oc- 
cur occasionally.  The  beaches  are  all  of  the  same 
limestone  as  the  hills ;  and  we  obtained,  on  several 
ridges  net^''  the  sea,  some  curious  fish  bones  and  shells 
in  a  fossil  state,  and  numerous  cornu  ammonii.  There 
is  no  regular  rocky  formation  to  be  seen,  though  the 
neighbouring  lands  are  of  granite ;  but  the  whole  island 
appears  to  have  been  formed  by  the  action  of  the  ice 
which  presses  on  it,  and  occasionally  turns  up  the  beach 
for  a  great  distance ;  for  notwithstanding  limestone 
predominated,  granite,  gneiss,  iron,  and  other  minerals 
were  abundantly  scattered  amongst  it  in  small  detached 
masses.  The  whole  coast  is  very  shoal,  but  the  sound-  j 
ings  are  regular.  Owing  to  the  shallowness  of  the 
water,  the  whole  of  this  neighbourhood  is  the  favourite 
resort  of  immense  numbers  of  walruses,  which  animals  j 
delight  in  such  feeding  places. 

Igloolik,    though  in   appearance    an   inconsiderable  | 
spot,  is  a  very  important  settlement  to  the  Eskimaux, 
who  have  no  less  than  four  fixed  places  of  residence  I 
upon  it,  to  which,  as  the  season  alters,  they  move  in 
rotation;  independent  of  these,  the  beaches  in  every 
direction  bear  marks  of  tents  having  been  pitched  on  I 


lOLOOLlK. 


S25 


ng  taken  a  final 
nade  so  tedious 
)ut  ten  miles  in 
y  singular  form, 
p  bay,  at  whose 
through  it,  the 
)intHl  by  a  small 
is  too  shoal  for 
rably  even,  the 
nity,and"  table- 
\^  174  feet;  and 
Lone,  with  much 
he  exception  of 
and  may  be  con- 
lakes,  and  cover- 
res  of  gravel  oc- 
'all  of  the  same 
lined,  on  several 
I  bones  and  shells 
immonii.     There 
seen,  though  the 
t  the  whole  island 
action  of  the  ice 
urns  up  the  beach 
anding  limestone 
nd  other  minerals 
in  small  detached 
aal,  but  the  sound- 
vdllowness  of  the  | 
,odis  the  favourite 
es,  which  animal?  | 

an  inconsiderable 
to  the  Eskimaux, 
laces  of  residence 
BFS,  they  move  in 
beaches  in  every 
been  pitched  on  I 


them.    The  principal  dwellings  are  what  we  call  the 
bone  huts,  of  whicli  I  have  so  often  spoken.     The  na- 
tives term  them,  as  well  as  the  whole  island,  Igloolik ; 
and  Igloo  being  a  hotue,  the  huts  may  have  been  the 
means  of  naming  the  coun^**y.     From  Igloolik,  as  the 
summer  advanced,  and  the  inlet  became  clear,  as  we 
had  seen  about  August,  all  removed  to  a  point  near  the 
Fury,  and  the  tents  were  pitched  within  circular  walls 
of  rough  stones,  apparently  built  with  some  labour, 
and  having  perhaps  stood  for  ages.    This  spot,  which 
we  called  Pamdes  Point,  from  its  having  been  the  re- 
sidence of  one  of  our  acqueintance,  a  great  man,  who 
was  named  after  Mr.  Palmer,  was  by  the  natives  called 
Oong-&-l6o-y&y.    In   addition    to    the    circles   within 
which  the  people  lived,  was  one  entirely  set  apart  for 
assemblies,  when  a  whale  was  killed,  or  any  great  and 
joyous  occasion,  in  which  the  happy  savages  met  to 
sing  and  dance.    This  I  considered  as  a  piece  of  Eski- 
maux  antiquity ;  and  being  the  only  thing  of  the  kind  I 
ever  saw  in  the  country,  I  shall  mention  its  size  :  the 
surrounding  wall  was  of  large  heavy  pieces  of  lime- 
stone, and  about  three  feet  in  height ;  the  enclosed 
space  about  fifteen  feet  in  diameter ;  and  at  the  foot  of 
the  wall,  large  square  blocks  of  lime,  which  three  or 
four  men  would  hardly  lillt,  were  very  regularly  jplaced 
in  an  exact  circle  as  a  bench ;  the  upper  surface  of 
these   stones   was   worn  quite  smooth,  and  in   some 
places  bore  a  polish,  from  constant  use ;  in  the  centre 
of  the  place  stood  one  lai^e  stone,  also  worn,  which 
appeared  as  if  intended  as  a  seat  for  the  dancer  who  is 
within  the  circle,  to  rest  upon. 

Round  a  point  west  of  the  ships,  and  called  Arn&- 
ko&-khiak,  were  several  small  tenting-places ;  and  at 
the  westernmost  end  of  the  island  were  four  huts,  built 
of  flat  pieces  of  limestone,  but  I  believe  not  intended 
for  a  summer  residence :  one  of  these  was  really  very 
neatly  constructed.  The  fourth  place  of  established 
residence  was  a  small  isthmus  on  the  northern  side  of 
the  island,  to  which  the  natives  moved  before  the 
9Q0W  had  yet  left  the  ground ;  this,  about  four  miles 
28 


i  ] 


3^6 


NATIVES   COMB  OFIf.* 


iJ: 


across  the  land  from  Pamee's  Point,  was  named  Kayak- 
t&rloo. 

"^  In  one,  and  perhaps  more  of  the  large  lakes,  small 
front  were  found ;  ducks,  geese,  and  other  birds  flock' 
ed  to  this  shore  in  the  breeding  season,  but  were  too 
much  disturbed  by  us  to  make  any  long  stay.  A  long 
low  island  near  Tgloolik  was  famous  on  account  of  the 
immense  flocks  of  brent-geese  which  frequented  it ; 
and  the  Eskimaux  caught  great  numbers  in  the  moult- 
ing season.  The  place,  from  NerlSk,  ft  hrent-goose^ 
was  called  Ner-le-n&k-too.  *  '^ 

Igloolik,  or  more  properly  the  winter  station  of  the 
Hecia,  is  in  69°  SCy  42"  north  latitude,  and  in  81°  40' 
12"  west  longitude.  Mr.  Fisher's  observatory  on  shore 
was  in  latitude  69°  21',  and  longitude  81°  36'  34",  west 
of  Greenwich.  iMWi#r« 


.^. 


^^^^The  early  part  of  the  13th  was  very  hazy  ;  but  the 
wind  gradually  increasing,  at  length  came  round  to  the 
■orth-west.  We  now  ran  through  the  ice  to  the  south- 
ward, and  at  intervals  saw  the  low  land,  in  continua- 
tion of  Alugnuk,  west  of  us ;  by  midnight  we  had  run 
fifly  miles  from  Igloolik,  and  found  ourselves  ofi*  Oog- 
litt,  1  small  low  island,  having  two  winter  huts  on  it : 
the  wind  now  became  light  and  variable. 

At  three,  a.m.  of  the  14tb,  three  of  our  old  acquaint- 
ance came  ofl*  in  their  canoes  from  the  main  land, 
which  at  this  part  was  named  Ar-wik-khioo-ft-wik. 
We  received  these  first  visitors  so  well,  and  so  loaded 
them  with  presents,  that  we  were  speedily  visited  by 
six  more  canoes,  which  were  all  treated  in  the  same 
manner;  old  Na^now  was  amongst  the  others,  and  was 
the  only  one  who  did  not  beg :  Takkalikkita  also  came 
off";  and  while  1  was  handing  him  a  present  from  our 
small  boat,  in  which  1  was  sitting  alone  alongside,  his 
canoe  upset,  by  our  having  too  much  way,  and  its  get* 
ting  broadside  on.  I  had  great  difliculty  in  eitricating 
him,  and  his  frait  bark  filled  instantly  ;  we,  however, 


DRIFT  OF  THE    SHIP. 


lamed  Kayak- 

B  lakes,  small 
er  birds  flock- 
but  were  too 
stay.  A  long 
account  of  the 
frequented  it; 
J  in  the  moult- 
,  a  brent-goose^ 

r  station  of  the 
,  and  in  81°  40' 
vatory  on  shore 
l©  36' 34",  west 


f  hazy  ;  but  the 
me  round  to  the 
ice  to  the  south- 
nd,  in  continua- 
ight  we  had  run 
irseWcs  off  Oog- 
mter  huts  on  it : 

lie. 

our  old  acquaint- 
the  main  land, 
,ak-khi6o-ft-wik. 
11,  and  so  loaded 
fiedily  visited  by 
lated  in  the  same 
J  others,  and  was 
iikkita  also  came 
iresent  from  our 
e  alongside,  his 
.way,  and  its  get- 
Ity  in  extricating 
•  we,  however, 


put  all  in  order  for  him  again,  and  r&paired  his  losses 
with  interest. 

We  remained  three  weary  days  in  the  offing,  off 
Ooglitt,  with  very  variable  and  unfavourable  weatherj 
fogs,  rain,  calms,  and  strong  southerly  winds,  reliev- 
ing each  other.  The  whole  sea  to  the  southward  of 
us  was  entirely  filled  with  ice,  through  which  we  saw 
no  opening^.  A  vast  quantity  of  walruses  were  heard 
grunting  near  us  alt  the  morning  of  the  16th,  and  one 
of  them  dro^^  undismayed  alongside  on  a  piece  of  ice  ; 
he  was  killed  by  a  single  ball,  but  sank  before  a  boat 
could  be  lowered.  In  the  forenoon  I  took  one  boat, 
and  some  officers  another,  and  we  each  succeeded  in 
killing  a  walrus.  The  herd  from  which  we  obtained 
these  were  nearly  all  females  with  their  ciibs ;  and 
while  chasing  those  which  had  been  wounded  with  ball, 
we  observed  the  mothers  holding  their  young  between 
their  fore  flippers,  and  pushing  them  forward  when- 
ever they  were  in  danger  of  being  overtaken.  We 
merely  cut  off  the  heads,  and  took  some  flesh  and 
the  liver  from  our  prizes,  which  were  rather  small 
in  size.  ^ 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  18th,  a  short  continuance 
of  light  northerly  wind  endbled  us  to  make  a  few  miles 
of  southing,  when  we  were  again  brought  up  by  the 
ice,  off  the  edge  of  which  we  lay  for  three  days  more. 
On  the  22d,  by  taking  advantage  of  a  slack,  we  ran  a 
few  miles  to  the  southward,  and  were  at  last  beset. 
We  passed  Amit-yoke.     Remaining   beset,  we  drove 
with  the  ice  to  the  southward,  and  at  noon  on  the  24th, 
were  abreast  of  Cape  Penrkyni:.  By  noon  on  the  25th, 
we  had  driven  to  abreast  the  Barrow  River — rain,  calm, 
fog,  as  usual.     Still  beset  and  driving,  we  found  our- 
selves, on  the  26th,  about  ten  miles  to  the  northward 
of  Cape  Wilson.     On  the  morning  of  the  27th,  a  strong 
northerly  breeze^  sprung  up,  and  we  bored  or  forced 
our  Way  amongst  some  slack  ice  until  evening,  when 
we  made  fast  to  a  floe  in  shoal  water,  about  Ave  miles 
to  the  north  of  Point  Elizabeth :  we  had  made  about 
twenty  miles  on  this  day,  which  was  more  than  we 


4m 

'H    i 

i 


I;  I 


IV, ',:-  - 


i 
•  1' 


f  ■$:■ 


3£8 


OAXGEB  OF  THE  HECXA 


fi"' 


II  ■      t ' 


m  ' 


m 


had  done  for  sixteen  days ;  but  in  doing  this,  the  ship 
received  some  severe  shocks,  as  the  ice  was  very  her. 
vy,  and  the  pieces  generally  lay  a  sufficient  distance 
apart  to  allow  of  the  ship's  getting  great  way  before 
she  struck  them.  We  had  now  for  many  days  experi- 
enced the  effects  of  the  same  strong  current,  or  set  oi' 
tide  from  the  northward,  which  we  had  so  much  trou- 
ble in  advancing  against  during  the  last  year.  Now 
however  it  was  of  great  assistance,  as  we  made  the 
whole  of  our  way  under  its  influence,  the  sea  being 
closely  packed  with  heavy  ice,  which  made  eight  or 
ten  miles  southing  in  the  twenty-four  hours. 
-  At  9  p.  M.  the  whole  body  of  ice  began  running 
wildly  together,  and  the  strain  against  the  ship  was 
very  powerful.  The  floe  by  which  we  hung,  soon  burst 
in  pieces  by  the  pressure  of  others,  and  we  went  adrift 
at  the  mercy  of  the  pack.  In  an  hour  we  fell  alongside 
another  lai^e  floe  and  got  fast  to  it,  but  this,  like  the 
former,  soon  broke.  As  the  ship  was  now  driving  very 
fast  inshore,  wc  unhung  the  rudder,  expecting  soon  to 
strike,  having  shoaled  our  water  rapidly  from  twenty* 
two  to  eleven  fathoms.  A  heavy  pressure  however 
swept  us  ofi*  again,  and  by  midnight  we  found  ourselves 
driving  on  Point  Elizabeth,  which  was  flat,  and  had  a 
long  shoal  off  it.  In  a  few  minutes  we  shoaled  our 
water  from  twenty-four  to  seven  fathoms,  and  were 
still  nearing  the  point,  past  which  the  ice  was  running 
very  rapidly.  As  an  experiment,  we  now  made  all  sail, 
the  wind  being  fresh  from  N.  and  the  rudder  being 
unhung,  the  ship  could  only  go  ofi*  free.  This  suc- 
ceeded, and  we  deepened  our  water  gradually,  al- 
though the  darkness  prevented  our  seeing  if  we  were 
apTPln  running  on  to  any  other  shoa*!  point.  The  quick 
whirling  motion  of  the  heavy  floe  pieces  helped  us 
considerably,  and  the  sails  pushed  us  into  any  open- 
ings which  were  made;  for  after  any  very  severe 
shock  the  heavy  ice  separated  for  a  Tew  moments  be- 
fore it  acquired  fresh  motion  ;  and  thus  in  about  two 
hours,  and  by  a  few  feet  at  a  time,  we  got  about  a  mile 
from  the  danger.    The  ship  seldom  complained,  Ccl 


WHILE  DRIFTING  WITH  THE   ICE. 


3^9 


cracked  so  much  od  any^other  occasion  as  on  this  night, 
but  she  received  no  injury.  *  """ 

By  eight  a.  m.  on  the  28th  we  were  six  miles  to  the 
southward  of  Point  Elizabeth,  still  close  beset  and 
driving  with  the  ice.  At  noon,  being  twenty  miles  to  the 
northward  of  Winter  Island,  we  saw  its  highest  hills 
from  the  deck.  A  whale  came  up  alongside,  and  re- 
mained for  some  time.  During  the  night  we  drove 
round  the  point  off  Adderley^s  Bluff  into  the  deep  bight 
to  the  northward  of  Winter  Island,  ship  still  beset.  On 
the  morning  of  the  29th  Turton^s  Shoals  lay  about 
three  miles  inshore  of  us,  and  in  the  couT^e  of  the  day 
we  neared  considerably  two  small  islands,  which  lay 
off  the  N.E.  extremity  of  Winter  Island.  In  the  after- 
noon we  observed  the  officers  of  the  Fury,  which  was 
a  mile  or  two  north  of  us,  on  the  ice,  firing  at  a 
Vjnr,  but  \he  animal  made  off.  In  the  evening  he 
;  le  to  the  Hecia,  and  continued  reconnoitering  us  for 
aoout  half  an  hour,  a  little  out  of  rifle  distance.  This 
was  a  small,  but  at  the  same  time  the  heaviest  animal 
of  the  kind  we  had  ever  seen,  its  haunches  being 
formed  like  those  of  a  very  fat  pig,  and  its  belly  of  a 
great  size. 

During  the  night  we  were  swept  out  of  the  strength 
of  the  tides,  and  lay  not  above  a  mile  from  the  northern 
most  of  the  two  islands.  We  continued  all  day  oi  the 
30th  to  drive  very  slowly  into  the  opening  between 
them ;  and  a  little  before  day-break  on  the  31  st  found 
ourselves  moving  quickly  through  the  narrowest  part, 
which  is  about  three  quarters  of  a  mile.  When  it  was 
light  we  had  opened  our  view  a  little,  having  passed 
about  300  yards  fwm  the  outer  island,  and  100  yards 
from  a  low  rock  off  it.  The  soundings  were  very 
regular,  from  thirty  to  eighteen  fathoms ;  but  the  ice 
had  considerable  motion,  and  heavy  pieces  lay  aground 
on  each  side  of  us.  When  clear  of  the  islands,  the  rush 
of  tide  set  us  about  two  miles  into  the  offing,  directly 
for  a  large  shoal,  on  which  heavy  ice  was  thrown  up, 
and  past  which  the  other  ice  was  running  at  above  a 
knot.  We  were  carried  within  half  a  cablets  length 
28* 


i 

w 


hi    '< 
( 

;il    \ 


W   I 


3d0 


UANOEB  07  TH£    SHIPS 


K'ii 


of  the  outer  edge  of  the  shoal,  and  from  thirty  to 
thirteen  fathoms  water.  Two  hours  elapsed  before 
we  drove  out  of  the  slack  water  caused  by  the  shoal, 
and  we  then  floated  quicl^ly  along  the  coast  of  Winter 
Island.  At  noon  we  had  ^e  satisfaction  of  seeing 
that  the  Fury  had  passed  safely  through  the  passage 
between  the  islands,  and  was  also  clear  of  the  shoal. 
By  three  p.  m.  we  rounded  Cape  Fisher,  cT  which 
heavy  ice  was  grounded,  and  were  soon  hurried  past 
eur  old  winter  quarters,  which  were  closely  packed. 
We  had  a  good  view  of  the  graves  of  our  three  people, 
and  were  happy  to  observe  them  untouched  by  the 
natives  whom  we  had  left  here,  and  who  might  have 
been  tempted  to  open  them  to  search  for  wood  or  iron. 
The  Fury  remaining  stationary  with  the  ice  off  Cape 
Fisher  for  about  an  hour.  Captain  Parry  sent  three 
officers  on  shore  to  examine  the  graves,  &c.  At  their 
return  they  brought  with  them  radishes,  mustard  and 
cress,  and  onions,  from  our  gardens,  which  had  surviv- 
ed a  winter  and  were  still  alive,  seventeen  months  from 
the  time  they  were  planted.  This  was  a  very  remark- 
able proof  of  their  having  been  preserved  by  the  cover- 
ing of  snow. 

We  had  now  been  nineteen  days  coming  from 
Igloolijk,  and  had  been  carried  three  degrees  entirely 
at  the  mercy  of  the  ice.  In  no  part  of  our  voyage, 
even  at  the  commencement  of  winter,  had  we  been 
kept  in  such  a  state  of  constant  suspense  and  anxiety  as 
to  the  fate  of  the  ships ;  for  we  were  carried  into  every 
bight,  and  swept  over  each  point  without  the  power  of 
helping  ourselves  ;  and  had  we  struck,  our  fate  would 
in  all  human  probability  have  been  decided. 

During  the  night  we  saw  the  aurora  very  bright 
over  Winter  Islanc'.  I  was  remarkable  that  we  should 
have  seen  it  so  seh'or  and  faintly  at  Igloolik,  and  that 
DOW  again,  we  sho-il  I,  on  returning  to  Winter  Island, 
find  it  as  brilliant  as  we  had  been  accustomed  to  see  it 
at  tlie  same  place  two  years  before.  The  nights  were 
now  very  cold,  long,  and  dark,  afnd  the  sea  fro^e  thick- 
ly when  not  agitated.       *?w  *i'*''n;^^**^^?''**'^*^> 


jl'JICn&~' 


/^  IN  LTONT   INLBT. 


It' 


SSI 


roiD  thirty  to 
lapsed  before 
1  by  the  shoal, 
wst  of  Winter 
ion   of  seeing 
rh  the  passage 
of  the  shoal, 
her,  cf  which 
n  hurried  past 
jlosely  packed, 
r  three  people, 
touched  by  the 
ho  might  have 
)r  wood  or  iron, 
le  ice  off  Cape 
irry  sent  three 
5,  &c.     At  their 
es,  mustard  and 
hich  had  surviv- 
een  months  from 
}  a  very  lemark- 
ed  by  the  cover- 

I  coming  from 
legrees  entirely 
of  our  voyage, 
r,  had  we  been 
se  and  anxiety  as 
Mtied  into  every 
Dut  the  power  of 
;,  our  fate  would 
cided. 

ora  very  bright 
le  that  we  should 
rlooUk,  and  that 
10  Winter  Island, 
istomed  to  see  it 
Che  nights  were 
acft  fi!PS5«  ttick- 


On  the  1st  of  September,  at  daylighl,  we  made  all 
sail,  and  forced  the  ship  a  little  farther  from  the  land 
We  lost  sight  of  the  Fury,  which  was  carried  round 
Cape  Fisher;  while  in  the  mean  time  we  drove  along 
the  N.W.  shore  of  the  island,  very  close  to  the  ground- 
ed ice.  Soon  aAer  noon  the  southerly  wind  drove  us 
directly  for  the  beach,  and  at  about  a  cable's  length 
from  it  we  had  fifteen  fathoms  water.  After  four  p.  m. 
we  moved  slowly  off  again,  and  there  remained  about 
half  a  mile  from  the  rocks.  At  night  the  win^  changed 
suddenly  to  the  eastward,  and  blew  very  stroag  on 
shore.  We  sent  down  top-gallant  yards  and  struck 
the  masts,  driving  broadside  on  for  the  beach ;  when 
about  400  yards  from  it,  the  ice  within  us  brought  us 
up  in  sixteen  fathoms.  On  the  2nd,  we  again  drew  off 
and  moved  slowly  to  the  eastward.  We  now,  with  an 
easterly  wind,  bored  to  the  southward  for  a  short  dis- 
tance, and  by  this  means,  and  by  the  set  of  the  tide,  got 
about  four  miles  to  the  S.W.  of  Cape  Fisher,  deepening 
our  water  to  fifty  fathoms.  In  the  evening  we  began 
to  drive  up  hyou  Inlet,  and  a  very  thick  fog  came  on 
with  a  strong  N.E.  wind.  We  were  however  in  103 
fathoms ;  but  by  eleven  we  shoaled  suddenly  to  twenty- 
four,  without  knowing  where  we  had  driven.  The 
weather  was  very  thick  and  raw,  p  d  a  great  quaijdty 
of  ice  formed  on  the  rigging. 

By  one  a.  m.  on  the  3rd  we  again  deepened  our  sound- 
ings to  forty-nine  fathoms,  still  driving  up  the  inlet. 
At  daylight  the  fog  cleared  away  a  little,  and  we  saw 
the  Fury  near  us ;  we  also  obtained  an  indistinct  view 
of  the  land,  and  perceived  that  we  were  in  mid  chao* 
nel.  During  the  whole  day  and  night  we  still  drove 
qp  the  inlet,  a  fresh  N.E.  breeze  blowing-,  and  np 
change  in  the  ice.  Soundings  above  130  fathoms, 
rather  more  than  a  mile  from  the  southern  shore.  At 
daylight  on  the  4th  a  very  light  air  came  on  from  th^ 
N.  W.  but  against  this  we  still  drove  to  the  westward. 

During  the  5th  we  remained  nearly  as  high  up  the 
inlet  as  Five  Hawser  Bay.  Wiqds  very  light  and  vtir 
ria)i>le.    No  change  in  th^  icc|.  :  -.i^^sMifmim^^^WMM 


;■ 


VA 


I 


II 


1 

i    1 
!     i 

i 

t 

1 

i 


n- 


'I'l 


nw 


Pi 

^'  1 

fH     '       i 

Wm 

mtm 

mm  '■ 

331& 


DEATH   or  MR.   FIFE. 


At  dny-break  on  the  6th  a  breeze  sprung  up  from 
the  N.  VV.,  and  in  the  course  ot'  the  day  we  forced  the 
ship  as  far  down  as  to  within  three  or  four  miles  of 
Winter  Island.  It  then  fell  calm.  At  three  f.  m.  Mr. 
George  Fife,  Greenland  master,  departed  this  life.  He 
had  long  been  affected  by  the  scurvy,  and  the  remedies 
which  were  necessarily  administered  reduced  him  so 
low  that  he  expired  from  mere  exhaustion.  We  had 
for  several  days  been  in  suspense  as  to  what  turn  his 
complaint  might  take,  and,  though  we  had  some  ^  .ipes 
of  him,  his  death  was  not  wholly  unexpected.  He  was 
himself  perfectly  aware  of  his  approaching  end,  and 
after  settling  all  his  worldly  affairs,  resigned  himself  to 
his  fate  with  greater  composure  than  1  bad  ever  before 
witnessed.  In  him  perished  the  father  of  a  large  fami- 
ly, who  depended  entirely  on  his  exertions  for  support ; 
and  all  his  shipmates  felt  the  most  sincere  regret  at  his 
loss.  He  ifas  an  old  and  experienced  seaman,  a  most 
valuable  and  useful  officer,  as  well  as  a  steady  and 
highly  respectable  man.  '  '^** 

There  were  circumstances  attending  tba  illness  of 
Mr.  Fife,  which  should  act  as  an  example  and  warning 
to  all  persons  employed  on  such  expeditions  as  ours. 
He  was  a  very  large  man,  of  p.  full  habit  of  body,  and 
when  in  health  weighed  about  240  pounds ;  his  age 
about  forty.  From  his  boyhood  he  had  been  constantly 
accustomed  to  hard  work  at  sea  ;  but  having  no  duty 
during  our  long  winters,  he  ceased  takiug  any  exercise, 
rarely  went  on  deck,  and  was  very  averse  to  such  anti- 
scorbutics as  were  served  to  us  all.  He  did  not  at  the 
time  feel  any  ill  effects  from  Im  sedentary  life,  but 
every  one  warned  him  of  continuing  it,  foreseeing  what 
would  be  the  consequences.  Having  thus  passed  two 
long  winters  with  impunity,  in  this  last  spring  his  limbs 
became  hard  and  swollen,  and  his  gums  greatly  infla- 
med. These  circumstances  he  concealed,  from  a  feel- 
ing of  shame,  for  the  space  of  a  fortnight,  at  the  end  of 
which  time  he  became  very  ill,  and  took  in  a  great 
measure  to  his  bed.  The  necessary  antiscoi-butics  were 
constantly  administered,  but  his  aversion  to  acids  did 


1 


A  DOG  FOUND   ON  THE  ICE. 


S33 


rung  up  frooft 
rve  forced  the 

four  miles  of 
hree  p.  m.  Mr. 

this  life.  He 
I  the  remedies 
duced  him  so 
Lion.    We  had 

what  turn  his 
ad  some  *  .Jpes 
cted.    He  was 
hlng  end,  and 
^ned  himself  to 
lad  ever  before 
)f  a  large  fami- 
ns  for  support; 
re  regret  at  his 
seaman,  a  most 
8  a  steady  and 

r  tbs  illness  of 
lie  and  warning 
ditions  as  ours. 
)it  of  body,  and 
)Ounds ;  his  age 
been  constantly 
having  no  (iuty 
ig  any  exercise, 
rse  to  such  anti- 
e  did  not  at  the 
entary  life,  but 
foreseeing  what 
thus  passed  two 
t  spring  his  limbs 
ns  greatly  infla- 
;led,  from  a  feel- 
;ht,  at  the  end  of 
took  in  a  great 
liscovbutics  were 
«ion  to  acids  did 


away  in  a  great  measure  with  their  effect,  f n  two 
months  his  disorder  abated  a  little,  though  he  was  very 
much  weakened,  and  during  the  last  week  the  scurvy 
had  almost  left  him,  his  legs  and  gums  being  nearly 
well,  yet  he  continued  sinking,  and  died  at  last  without 
a  struggle.  , 

The  morning  of  the  7th  brought  us  no  change,  un- 
less it  was  from  a  calm  to  a  light  air  directly  against 
us,  by  which  we  again  drove  up  the  inlet.  In  the  af- 
ternoon the  tide  set  us  down  again,  and  close  round  a 
point  to  the  left  of  Hoppner^s  Strait,  which  had  seve- 
ral shoals  with  heavy  grounded  ice  off  it.  While 
amongst  these,  the  ice  became  stationary,  and  we  lay 
all  night  within  a  cable's  length  of  two  or  three  of 
them,  alongside  which  we  had  the  satisfaction  of  find- 
ing four  and  five  fathoms  water. 

During  the  day  we  had  heard  perpetual  barking  and 
howling  at  the  point,  and  in  the  evening  saw  a  poor 
dog  on  the  ice  some  distance  from  the  land  ;  aAer  dark 
it  found  its  way  alongside,  and  was  caught.  It  was  re- 
duced to  a  skeleton,  having  probably  been  adrift  and 
starving  for  some  time.  A  continued  howling  being 
heard  on  the  shore,  we  suspected  that  son^^e  Eskimaui^ 
were  near  us,  but  none  were  visible.  They  were  pro- 
bably strangers,  or  would  otherwise  have  seen  and 
come  t5  hail  the  ship ;  besides  this,  the  new  dog  did 
not  appear  acquainted  with  any  of  ours,  which  would 
have  been  the  case  had  she  come  from  Igloolik. 

At  daylight  on  the  8th  we  still  continued  amongst  the 
shoals,  wind  easterly.  In  the  forenoon  we  drove  about 
a  cable's  length  off  the  outer  shoal,,  in  nine  fathoms, 
and  then  committed  the  body  of  our  deceased  shipmate 
to  the  deep.  The  afternoon  tide  brought  us  again  to 
within  the  ship's  length  of  the  outer  shoal  in  seven  fa- 
thoms, and  we  lay  in  considerable  anxiety,  until  the 
breeze  freshening,  we  drove  off,  and  all  sail  being  set, 
were  swept  slowly  up  the  inlet,  but  still  very  close  to 
the  shore.  Just  before  dark  we  secured  the  ship  to  a 
good-sized  floe,  and  passed  a  tolerably  quiet  night,  during 
which  it  rained  very  hard,  and  a  thick  fog  set  in. 


it ' 


liRKS* 


;     I 


li 


i  1 


■'.    i 


334 


THE    SBIP8  DRIVE   OUT 


|J:< 


At  daylight  on  the  9th)  the  fog  clearing  for  aiew 
minutes,  we  found  ourselves  about  two  cables'  length 
from  a  very  steep  rocky  beach,  but  the  weather  soon 
became  as  thick  as  ever:  wind  ea&terly  and  light. 
The  floe  by  which  we  were  hanging  turned  us  inshore 
of  it  twice,  but  we  again  warped  round  to  its  outer 
edge.  V^  e  continued  the  whole  day  about  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  frc-m  the  rocks,  and  at  night-fall  the  floe  dro.e 
directly  on  for  the  shore,  when  we  succeeded  in  war[*^ 
ing  to  another,  which  took  us  into  twenty-eight  fathoa>a. 
This  last  piece  of  ic^  being  in  the  set  of  the  tide,  he  Id 
its  own,  and  ^y  daylight  on  the  10th  we  found  open 
water  inshore  of  us ;  into  this  we  made  sail,  and  ran 
three  or  four  miles  up  the  inlet  to  near  the  Fury,  which 
was  very  distant :  we  then,  on  finding  the  ice  closing, 
ran  as  before  into  the  pack.  At  night  a  north-east  gale 
set  in,  and  we  found  the  wh^^le  body  of  ice  'setting  slow- 
ly down  the  inlet. 

By  the  morning  of  the  11th  tha  wind  came  round  to 
the  northward ;  the  ice  continued  setting  slowly  out  all 
day,  but  towards  evening  began  to  run  very  rapidly. 
As  we  were  unable  to  get  into  the  heart  of  the  pack, 
we  drove  the  whole  way  close  to  the  shore,  and  pass- 
ed the  shoals  ofi*  whicii  we  lay  on  the  7th  and  8th,  at 
about  a  cable's  length  distance,  ice  running  two  knots. 
During  the  night  we  drove  along  Winter  Island,  and  at 
daybreak  on  the  12th  were  about  three  miles  to  the 
westward  of  Cape  Fisher.  We  continued  to  drive  tr- 
pidly  to  the  southward  all  day,  although  the  wind  slack- 
ened, and  came  round  to  the  westward.  No  water  was 
seen  in  any  direction.  The  Fury  having  been  several 
miles  higher  up  the  inlet  than  the  Hecla,  was  much 
later  in  getting  out  of  the  in-draught;  but  before 
night  we  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  her  otf  Cape 
McLaren,  although  about  fifteen  miles  distant  from  us. 
We  were  now  in  the  ofiing,  at  least  fifteen  miles  from 
Bny  land,  and  very  tightly  beset.  It  is  quite  out  of  my 
power  to  describe  the  extreme  satisfaction  we  all  felt 
ou  finding  ourselves  at  length  clear  of  the  inlet,  where 
the  ship  had  been  continually  in  danger,  from  which 


OF  LTON   INLET* 


339 


ing  for  a  lew 
cables'  length 
weather  soon 
riy  and  light, 
ned  us  inshore 
,d  to  its  outer 
ut  a  quarter  of 
the  floe  dro -e 
eeded  in  warp^ 
-eight  fathoiTb. 
fthe  tide,  held 
ve  found  open 
le  sail,  and  ran 
the  Fury,  which 
the  ice  closing, 
t  north-east  gale 
,ce  setting  slow- 

1  came  round  to 
ig  slowly  out  all 
m  very  rapidly. 
Ut  of  the  pack, 
shore,  and  pass- 
7th  and  8th,  at 
ningtwo  knots, 
er  Island,  and  at 
ree  miles  to  the 
lued  to  drive  ra- 
the  wind  slack- 
No  water  was 
[ing  been  several 
ecla,  was  much 
ht;    but   before 
g  her  off  Cape 
distant  from  us. 
ifteen  miles  from 
quite  out  of  my 
[ction  we  all  felt 
the  inlet,  where 
er,  from  w^^i^h 


no  human  exertion  could  have  extricated  her.  In  fact, 
during  the  last  twelve  days  we  had  suffered  more  anxiety 
and  trouble  than  in  the  whole  course  of  the  voyage ; 
and,  for  my  own  part,  I  would  instantly  have  preferred 
being  frozen  up  during  another  eleven  months  winter 
to  passing  again  so  anxious  a  period  of  time. 

Ten  of  the  twelve  nights  were  passed  on  deck  in 
expectation  each  tide  of  some  decided  change  in  our 
affairs,  either  b^'  being  \e(i  on  the  rocks,  or  grounding 
in  such  shoal  water  that  the  whole  body  of  ice  must 
have  slid  over  us.  But,  as  that  good  old  seaman  Baffin 
expresses  himself,  ^^  God,  which  is-  greater  than  either 
ice  or  tide,  always  delivered  us."  .  t  iitir 

In  the  course  of  the  13th  and  t4tb  we  drove  dowd 
past  Vansittart  Island,  and  saw  Southampton  Island. 
The  Fury  hadbeen  slowly  nearing  us  all  this  time,  and 
DOW  by  signal  ordered,  that  the  extra  provisions,  &c.^ 
tve  had  began  to  serve  out,  should  be  stopped ;  a  pre- 
caution rendered  very  necessary  by  our  prospects  of 
detention. 

On  the  15th,  the  Fury  neared  us  te  within  abou^ 
three  miles.  In  the  evening  we  saw  a  considerable 
quantity  of  open  water  from  the  inasthead  in  the  south- 
east. Fife  Rock  was  also  seen  five  or  six  miles  to  the 
southward.  The  wind  had  now  been  from  the  north- 
westward for  three  days  ;  the  nights  were  very  cold, 
and  the  sludge-ice  was  formed  so  thick  every  night,  as 
1  in  many  places  to  bear  a  man ;  so  that  the  pack  in 
which  we  lay  was  in  a  manner  cemented  together. 

All  hands  were  constantly  employed  during  the  16th 
I  in  endeavouring  to  turn  the  ship's  head  to  the  east- 
ward, but  without  being  able  to  move  her.  Mr.  Geo. 
ICrauford,  Greenland  mate  of  the  Fury,  having  on  the 
7th  been  appointed  to  fill  Mr.  Fife's  vacancy  as  Green- 
land master,  now  joined  us  by  walking  r.Ver  the  ice 
from  the  Fury,  a  distance  of  nearly  two  miles.  I  re- 
ceived by  him  letters,  &c.  from  Captain  Parry,  and 
learnt  that  all  were  well  in  his  ship.  At  5  a.m.  on  the 
17th  we  again  began  working,  and  after  three  hours 
I  turned  the  ship's  head.    At  9  twenty  men  came  over 


■    i 


>  I 


■;      }l 


wmii.:' 


,'•■  I  ■ 


i; 


8S6         PASSAGE  DOWN  HVSSON's   STRAIT. 

the  ice  to  assist  us,  and  in  ten  hours  we  warped,  and 
Miiled  into  the  open  water,  which  had  been  about  two 
Bodies  from  us :  here  the  Fury  was  waiting  for  us,  and 
^e  made  all  sail  with  a  fair  wind  and  clear  sea  for  thie 
Trinity  Islands.  We  had  now  been  thirty-five  days  be- 
set, and  in  that  period  had  driven  with  the  ice  above 
three  hundred  miles  without  any  exertion  on  our  part, 
and  also  without  a  possibility  of  extricating  ourselves. 
We  had  by  this  means  abundant  proof  of  the  strong  and 
continual  set  from  the  northward,  and  the  impossibinty 
df  a  ship  making  any  way  against  it,  unless,  as  in  our 
tase  in  1822,  she  started  before  the  land  ice  bad  se- 
parated from  the  shore ;  by  this  she  might  warp  or  hold 
as  occasion  required,  if  strong  enough  to  resist  the 
great  pressure  to  which  our  two  ships  were  then  sub- 
jected. Until  we  were  driven  up  Lyon  Inlet,  our  daily 
drift  was  frosTi  eight  to  ten  miles,  whatever  quarter  the 
wind  was  blowing  fi  ;>m.  After  clearing  the  inlet,  we 
drove  to  abreast  of  Southampton  Island  at  the  same 
rate. 

We  ran  all  night  east-south-east,  and  made  seventy 
miles  by  noon  of  the  18th.  With  a  light  but  still 
ikvourable  breeze,  we  continued  our  course,  and  I 
passed  the  day  on  board  the  Fury  with  Captain  Parry. 
All  the  Trinity  Isles  wiBre  not  above  twenty-five  miles 
distant  at  dark,  we  lay  to  until  3  a.  m.  on  the  19th, 
When  we  again  made  sail.  By  8  a.  m.  we  were  some 
ttiil68  beyond  the  Islands,  and  abreast  the  centre  of 
Nottingham  Island.  Favourable  weather  continued, 
and  still  running  east-south-east,  by  noon  of  the  20th 
^^  had  made  a  hundred  and  ten  miles  in  the  twt.<.y- 
fOQr  hours ;  an  amazing  progress  for  people  who  had 
for  above  two  years  considered  twenty  miles  in  the 
skm^  period  as  a  subject  of  great  exultation.  As  we 
now  considered  ourselves  in  t^  fair  way,  we  made 

Sbj^arations  for  crossing  the  Atlantic,  by  hoisting  in : 
i|  breaking  up  our  waste  boats,  which  were  old  and 
nns^viceable,  getting  the  spike  plank  on  board,  andj 
b<Eindmjg  lai^e  courses,  reeving  sea  ropes,  &c. 
In  the  evening  we  saw  the  land,  distant,  and  east- 


BAIT. 

B  warped,  and 
»een  about  two 
iog  for  U8,  and 
ear  sea  for  the 
ty-five  days  be- 
theice  above 
an  on  our  part, 
iting  ourselves, 
f  the  strong  and 
he  imposiibility 
unless,  as  in  our 
land  ice  had  se- 
iH  warp  or  hold 
rh  to  resist  the 
I  were  then  sub- 
a  Inlet,  our  daily 
ever  quarter  the 
ing  the  inlet,  we 
ind  at  the  same 


CROSSIim  THE  ATLAirric. 


337 


id  made  seventy 
a  light  but  still 
ir  course,  and  I 
h  Captjun  Parry, 
twenty-five  miles 
M.  on  the  19th, 
M.  we  were  some 
ist  the  centre  of 
»ather  continued, 
Qoon  of  the  20th 
les  in  the  twt-.y- 
r  people  who  had 
enty  miles  in  the 
:ultation.    As  we 
way,  we  made 
ic,  by  hoisting  in 
,ich  were  old  and 
,k  on  board,  and 

>pes,  &c. 
distant,  and  east- 


south-east  :  it  was,  as  I  supposed,  the  bluff  above  the 
Upper  Savage  Island.  We  also  discovered  a  large 
berg,  which  was  a  novelty,  and  the  first  piece  of  ice 
seen  since  we  quitted  the  pack  on  the  17th,  a  longer 
period  of  open  water  than  we  had  ever  met  with  since 
the  Nautilus  left  us. 

As  we  were  now  above  halfway  down  the  strait,  a 
good  look  out  was  kept  for  the  Hudson^s  Bay  ships, 
this  being  their  general  time  of  returning ;  and  it  may 
be  imagined,  that  after  twenty-nine  month^s  absence 
from  civilized  man,  we  were  very  anxious  to  obtain 
news  of  old  England. 

We  continued  running  four  and  five  knots  with  a 
south-easterly  wind  all  the  21st  and  22d.  On  the  fore- 
noon of  the  23d  we  made,  and  in  the  evening  passed, 
Resolution  Island,  at  about  mid-channel  between  it  and 
Button^s  Islands ;  before  dark  we  were  in  the  offing 
and  swell  of  the  Atlantic.  During  the  last  two  or 
three  days  we  saw  several  bergs,  but  no  other  ice ; 
and  passing  near  one,  picked  up  some  solid  blocks, 
which  were  stowed  away  as  presents  for  our  friends  at 
home,  to  cool  their  wine. 

The  breeze  moderated  towards  evening  of  the  24th- 
Nothing  could  be  more  delightful  than  the  change 
of  temperature  we  now  began  to  experience  ;  the  air 
and  water  at  noon  were  40"^,  and  fell  but  little  lower 
during  the  night,  l  dimerous  ffocks  of  mallemuks  and 
Ikittivvakes  hovered  round  us  all  day;  and  being  now 
new  to  us,  as  none  had  been  seen  since  July,  1821, 
I  enlivened  the  scene  very  much. 

With  variable  but  favourable  winds,  we  continued  to 

[lay  cur  course,  and  average  above   120  miles  a  day; 

one  or  two  sharp  gales,  with  very  heavy  sea,  set  in 

from  the  south-eastward,  but  the  wind  soon  went  down 

lagain.     In  the  blowing  weather,  we  had  an  excellent 

opportunity  of  observing   how   the  Hecla  behaved ; 

and  it  was  agreed  by  all,  that  her  qualities  as  a  good 

Isea  boat  were  established ;  we  rolled  very  deep,  but 

ho  easy,  as  on  no  occasion  to  give  any  apprehension  of 

liver  carrying  away  any  of  her  spars. 

29 


I! 


IV? 


I  hf 


338  HOSPITABLE  BECEFTIOIT  AT   8HETLARD. 

On  the  7th  October,  during  a  short  calm,  I  spent  a 
few  hours  with  Captain  Parry,  and  received  such  in- 
structions as  were  requisite  in  case  he  should  leave 
the  ships  as  soon  as  we  made  the  land.  On  the  8th,  a 
heavy  S.  E.  gale  blew  all  day,  and  brought  us  under 
main-topsail  and  foresail;  but  in  the  evening  it  sub- 
aided,  leaving  a  very  uneasy  sea  :  on  this  day  we  saw 
a  galliot,  which  crossed  us  at  a  few  miles ;  and  our 
beinff  once  more  in  a  frequented  track,  was  a  great 
satisfaction  to  us.  On  the  morning  of  the  9th,  we  saw 
an  English  ship  a  few  miles  to  the  northward  of  us, 
which  appeared  to  have  lost  some  of  her  yards  during 
the  recent  gale.  In  the  forenoon  we  made  the  land  of 
Orkney,  having  only  been  three  weeks  in  running 
from  the  ice  off  Southampton  Island,  and  sixteen  day» 
from  Resolution  Island ;  an  amazingly  speedy  and  no 
less  desirable  passage,  as  two-thirds  of  our  way  was  run 
without  our  having  had  a  single  gale.  On  this  fore- 
noon, both  ships  exercised  their  guns,  in  order  to  have 
every  thing  in  readiness  in  case  of  a  war ;  for  although 
our  force  was  insignificant,  we  were  yet  sufficiently 
strong  to  resist  any  small  privateers  ;  and  with  respect 
to  foreign  men  of  war,  we  felt  confident  that  they 
would  not  molest  us.  As  we  did  not  intend,  in  any 
case,  to  act  otherwise  than  on  the  defensive,  we  were 
now  as  well  prepared  as  we  could  possibly  be ;  but 
hoping,  for  the  good  and  happiness  of  our  country, 
that  all  the  world  were  still  at  peace.  A  signal  was 
made  at  noon,  for  the  officers  to  prepare  their  docu- 
ments to  be  delivered  up,  agreeably  to  the  Admiralty 
orders,  by  noon  on  the  morrow.  The  strong  southerly 
wind  continued  all  night,  and  at  one,  a.  m.  on  the  10th, 
we  passed  Fair  Island,  between  Orkney  and  Shetland ; 
we  then  bore  up  for  Lerwick,  in  Shetland,  at  which 
port  we  arrived  and  anchored  at  noon. 

Here  ceases  the  regular  journal  of  our  voyage  : 
and  while  I  feel  the  extreme  difficulty  of  describing 
our  reception  in  our  own  country,  1  rejoice  in  being 
able  to  pay  a  just  tribute  of  gratitude  to  the  inhabi- 
tapts  of  Lerwick,  in  particular,  for  their  unparalleled 


ETLAND. 

elved  such  in- 
I  should  leave 
On  the  8tb,  a 
lUght  us  under 
svening  it  sub- 
lis  day  we  saw 
miles ;  and  our 
c,  was  a  great 
he  9th,  we  saw 
)rthward  of  us, 
er  yards  during 
lade  the  land  of 
eks  in  running 
and  sixteen  days 
r  speedy  and  no 
our  way  was  run 
e.    On  this  fore- 
in  order  to  have 
ar ;  lor  although 
f  yet  sufficiently 
and  with  respect 
tident  that  they 
3t  intend,  in  any 
fensive,  we  were 
possibly  be ;  but 
of  our  country, 
A  signal  was 
„pare  their  docu- 
[tothe  Admiralty 
strong  southerly 
*.  M.  on  the  10th, 
ley  and  Shetland ; 
letland,  at  which 

of  our  voyage ; 
LUy  of  describing 
rejoice  in  being 
dde  to  the  inhabi- 
Iheir  unparalleled 


^C^^ 


AUSIYAL  IN   THE  THAMES. 


339 


hotpitalitv  towards  us.  The  entire  population,  dressed 
te  tmir  best  clothes,  received  us  on  our  arrival  with 
rtp#ted  cheers;  at  night,  the  whole  town,  even  to 
Um  most  miserable  cottage  was  thickly  illuminated, 
tir  V^rels  were  burnt  in  every  street,  while  cheering 
Mil  Rejoicing  continued  throughout  the  night ;  every 
door  was  open  to  us,  and  all  whom  we  met  proffered 
Vt  compliments  and  sincere  offers  of  service.  To 
doieiibe  the  effect  this  produced  on  o't  feelings  would 
bo  impossible  :  the  sudden  burst  of  news  for  two  years 
Md  ft  haU^  the  glorious  accounts  of  the  hnppy  stt^te  of 
OlUr  country,  the  sight  of  civilized  mar,  with  .nr  own 
emotions  at  having  been  spared  to  return  home  again, 
•—wore  most  painfully  delightful. 

Ota  the  Sunday  forenoon,  the  officers  of  both  ships, 
and  as  many  men  as  could  be  spared,  atte  jdo  1  the 
cb'Jrch  service,  when  the  venerable  Mr.  Men^ies  gave 
m  ft  most  excellent  discourse.  This  worthy  divine 
offisted  up  for  us  two  such  prayers  and  thanksgivings  as 
Cftn  never  be  forgotten  ;  and  while  doing  so,  his  own 
feelings  were  such  as  frequently  to  stop  his  utterance  ; 
iho  whole  congregation  was  in  tears,  ns  if  rendering 
^ftoks  for  the  return  of  their  nearest  relatives,  instead 
of  perfect  strangers  as  we  were.  Insensible  indeed 
matt  have  been  the  heart  of  any  one  of  us  which  was 
not  overflowing  with  gratitude  to  the  Almighty  and 
protecting  God,  who  had  carried  r<»  in  safety  through 
10  many  dangers. 

The  wind  ceased  during  the  night,  and  on  the 
morning  of  the  loth,  came  round  from  the  northward  ; 
at  noon  we  weighed,  and,  at:oompanicd  by  all  the 
gentlemen  of  the  place,  sailed  from  the  port :  our 
friends  left  us,  when  we  discharged  our  pilots,  under 
three  hearty  cheers  ;  and  with  a  fair  wind  we  ran  for 
the  coast  of  England.  On  the  16th,  Captain  Parry 
landed  at  Whitby,  and  his  Majesty's  ships  Fury  and 
Hecla  made  for  the  Thames,  which  we  entered  on  the 
l^llt,  after  an  absence  of  two  yeaji's  and  a  half. 

'  THE   END. 


)r 


i 


